Facebook in Irish high court challenge over data transfers

Facebook had sought a judicial review to a preliminary decision from the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) that personal data should not be transferred to the US.  

The court confirmed that leave to take the judicial review was granted. No date has been set for a court hearing.

Last week, the Wall Street Journal reported that the DPC sent a preliminary order to Facebook to suspend data transfers about its EU users to the US. 

It follows a July judgement from the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), declaring that the EU-US ‘privacy shield’ data transfer arrangement is invalid.

A Facebook spokesperson said: “International data transfers underpin the global economy and support many of the services that are fundamental to our daily lives. Businesses need clear, global rules, underpinned by the strong rule of law, to protect transatlantic data flows over the long term.”

The DPC declined to comment.

The CJEU ruling in July considered that standard contractual clauses are still valid for the transfer of personal data to data processors established in third countries, however, only if they include mechanisms that ensure compliance with the level of data protection equivalent to the GDPR within the EU.