WhatsApp has won the right to challenge a €225 million fine imposed by the Irish data regulator, in a legal victory for the Meta-owned messaging app. The European Court of Justice on Tuesday said WhatsApp had a right to contest the penalty, overturning the decision of a lower court and extending a five-year legal battle. Listen | 31:16WhatsApp called the European Data Protection Board, which had intervened in the investigation, an “unelected authority whose decisions can directly impact businesses and people across the EU”. The case is one of several ongoing challenges by US Big Tech companies against the EU’s digital rule book. Meta has increasingly criticised the EU’s digital rule book over the past year, comparing EU fines under the DMA with tariffs and handicaps for US companies operating in Europe.

Source: The Irish Times February 10, 2026 18:04 UTC