The Court of Justice of the European Union issued a landmark ruling on Tuesday that permits WhatsApp to proceed with a legal challenge against a 225 million euro privacy fine. This decision establishes a significant legal precedent by opening a direct avenue for corporations to contest decisions made by the European Data Protection Board. The board serves as an umbrella organization that coordinates data protection authorities from every member state across the European Union. By clarifying the legal standing of private companies in these matters, the court has effectively unblocked a substantial queue of pending appeals where the central board had previously overruled the decisions of national regulators.
This specific legal battle originated from a 2021 enforcement action led by the Irish Data Protection Commission. At the time, the Irish regulator investigated WhatsApp regarding its transparency obligations under the General Data Protection Regulation. The investigation focused on whether the messaging platform provided sufficient information to users about how their personal data was processed and shared with other entities. Initially, the Irish commission proposed a significantly lower financial penalty, ranging between 30 million and 50 million euros. However, several other European data protection authorities formally disagreed with the Irish assessment, arguing that the calculation did not reflect the severity of the alleged infractions.
The disagreement triggered a dispute resolution mechanism within the European Data Protection Board, which eventually issued a binding instruction to the Irish regulator to increase the fine to 225 million euros. WhatsApp subsequently sought to challenge the board’s intervention directly, but its initial efforts were met with procedural hurdles. The lower General Court of the European Union originally dismissed the challenge, suggesting that the company could only contest the final decision issued by the national regulator rather than the underlying instructions provided by the central board. Tuesday’s ruling by the higher court successfully overturns that interpretation, granting companies the right to target the central board’s decisions directly.
In its official release, the Court of Justice of the European Union stated that the board’s decision was of direct concern to WhatsApp. The judges noted that the board’s instruction unconditionally bound the Irish regulator, thereby creating a distinct and immediate change in the legal position of the company. By affirming this right to appeal, the court has ensured that the European Data Protection Board remains subject to judicial oversight. This is a critical development for the technology sector, as the board often plays a decisive role in harmonizing how privacy laws are applied to multinational corporations operating across different European jurisdictions.
A spokesperson for WhatsApp welcomed the ruling, emphasizing the importance of institutional accountability. The company argued that the board is an unelected body whose decisions carry significant weight for both businesses and individuals throughout the European Union. The spokesperson further stated that the court’s decision upholds the principle that affected parties must have the ability to challenge the board’s findings to ensure the fair application of the law. WhatsApp has consistently maintained that the board exceeded its legal mandate when it ordered the substantial increase in the fine amount back in 2021.
The implications of this ruling extend far beyond this single case. Legal experts suggest that the decision paves the way for WhatsApp’s parent company, Meta, to challenge several other privacy fines totaling billions of euros. Many of these penalties resulted from similar situations where the central board intervened to toughen sanctions originally proposed by the Irish Data Protection Commission. Because Meta’s European headquarters are located in Dublin, the Irish regulator typically serves as the lead authority for the company’s regional operations, making the relationship between the national office and the central board a focal point of corporate litigation.
The ruling follows an advisory opinion issued by the court’s advocate general in March 2025. In that opinion, the advisor highlighted that there were at least ten other legal challenges to the board’s decisions currently pending before the General Court. The vast majority of these cases involve Meta and concern fundamental questions about how the General Data Protection Regulation should be enforced against global technology firms. With the procedural barriers now removed, these cases can proceed to be heard on their merits, potentially leading to a significant reassessment of how privacy penalties are calculated in Europe.
For the European Data Protection Board, the ruling represents a shift in the administrative landscape. While the board has functioned as a powerful steering committee for European privacy enforcement, it must now prepare for more frequent and direct litigation in the Luxembourg-based courts. Following the announcement, the board issued a brief statement noting the court’s decision and expressing its readiness to defend the substance of its enforcement actions in future proceedings. The board maintains that its interventions are necessary to ensure a consistent level of data protection for all European citizens, regardless of where a company is headquartered.
The case will now return to the European Union’s General Court. While the higher court has resolved the question of whether WhatsApp has the right to sue the board, the lower court must now determine the actual merits of the complaint. This includes evaluating whether the 225 million euro fine was proportionate and whether WhatsApp’s transparency practices indeed constituted a breach of European law. This secondary phase of litigation is expected to take several more months as both parties present detailed arguments regarding the technicalities of data processing and user notifications.
The outcome of these future proceedings will be closely watched by the broader tech industry and privacy advocates alike. Since the implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation in 2018, the European Union has become a global leader in digital regulation, often setting the standard for how personal information is handled. However, the complexity of the enforcement process has led to frequent friction between national regulators and the central board. By providing a clear path for judicial review, the Court of Justice of the European Union has added a layer of checks and balances to a system that handles some of the most significant corporate penalties in history.
The ruling also highlights the evolving role of the Irish Data Protection Commission, which has frequently found itself at the center of international scrutiny. Critics have often accused the Irish office of being too lenient toward the technology giants it oversees, while the commission has defended its thorough and evidence-based approach to investigations. The frequent reversals by the European Data Protection Board have underscored these tensions. Now that companies can challenge the board directly, the legal focus may shift away from the Irish office and toward the collective decision-making process of the board itself.
As the litigation continues, the financial stakes remain high. Meta and its subsidiaries have been hit with a series of massive fines over the last several years related to data transfers, targeted advertising, and user privacy. If the courts eventually find that the board has consistently overstepped its authority or miscalculated these penalties, it could lead to a substantial reduction in the total amount of fines collected by European authorities. Conversely, if the board’s decisions are upheld on their merits, it will solidify the board’s power to enforce strict compliance across the continent.
Ultimately, Tuesday\’s judgment clarifies the rules of engagement for one of the world\’s most robust regulatory environments. It ensures that while the European Data Protection Board has the power to harmonize enforcement, it does not have the final word without the possibility of judicial intervention. For WhatsApp and other technology companies, the ruling is a procedural victory that keeps their legal options open in a long-term struggle over the boundaries of digital privacy and corporate transparency in the European market.
European Court Allows WhatsApp to Challenge Millions in Tech Privacy Fines
