WhatsApp Ireland wins leave to challenge €225m data fine

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

WhatsApp Ireland secured permission to challenge a €225 million data protection fine at the High Court on 8 November 2021. The Data Protection Commission imposed the fine after finding breaches of obligations under the General Data Protection Regulation.

The company seeks to have the decision quashed and argues that it is unconstitutional, incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights and flawed. It also claims the fine amounts to a criminal sanction and breaches its constitutional property rights and fair procedures.

Mr Justice Anthony Barr granted permission after WhatsApp’s application was unopposed, then adjourned the matter to a date the following month. WhatsApp also lodged a separate statutory appeal against the commission’s decision.