WhatsApp's fight against $268 million Irish privacy fine sent back to lower tribunal

By Foo Yun Chee and Padraic Halpin

BRUSSELS/DUBLIN, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Meta Platforms portion WhatsApp's combat against the EU privateness watchdog was sent backmost to ​a little tribunal connected Tuesday, prolonging a five-year tussle triggered by the ‌latter's bid to the Irish information extortion authorization to summation a good to 225 cardinal euros ($268 million).

The lawsuit ‌is 1 of galore for Ireland's DPC, which is the pb privateness regulator for astir of the U.S. tech giants owed to the determination of their EU caput offices successful the country.

Ireland's regulator took enactment pursuing complaints astir WhatsApp's usage of idiosyncratic information successful ⁠the country, aboriginal upping its ‌fine successful 2021 aft the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) intervened.

Meta subsequently appealed the punishment astatine a little tribunal but mislaid aft judges ‍said it had nary ineligible lasting to writer the authorization arsenic it was not straight affected by the EDPB's decision.

The Court of Justice of the European Union connected Tuesday disagreed with ​the tribunal's ruling and told it to analyse the lawsuit connected its merits.

"The ‌action brought by WhatsApp Ireland against Binding Decision 1/2021 of the European Data Protection Board is admissible," the Luxembourg-based tribunal said.

"We invited the Court's last judgement connected the substance which upholds our statement that those businesses and radical should beryllium capable to situation decisions the EDPB makes against them, truthful that it tin beryllium held afloat accountable ⁠by the EU courts," a WhatsApp spokesperson said.

The ​DPC has imposed fines of much than 4 ​billion euros connected ample tech companies for GDPR breaches since 2020 but has lone collected 17.5 cardinal euros owed to each but 2 of ‍its completed investigations ⁠being subjected to lengthy ineligible challenges.

With galore of the fines accrued by akin EDPB interventions, a fig of the appeals tin lone advancement erstwhile determination is ⁠clarity from the European courts connected however WhatsApp's 2021 punishment was calculated.

The lawsuit is C-97/23P WhatsApp Ireland ‌v EDPB.

($1 = 0.8403 euros)

(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee, further reporting by Sudip ‌Kar-Gupta; editing by Philip Blenkinsop, Kirsten Donovan)