WhatsApp Ireland Case Sent Back to Lower Tribunal: C-97/23P (Feb 10, 2026)

The Court of Justice of the European Union on February 10, 2026, sent WhatsApp Ireland's appeal against the European Data Protection Board's Binding Decision 1/2021 back to a lower tribunal, prolonging a five-year dispute. The court found the action admissible and upheld the Irish data protection authority's discretion in finalizing fines. The Irish privacy enforcer raised the penalty in 2021 following EDPB intervention. Meta lost its appeal at a lower tribunal after judges determined it was not directly affected by the EDPB decision. The case is numbered C-97/23P, WhatsApp Ireland v EDPB. The fine was set at 225 million euros ($268 million) at the time of the decision, with exchange rates: $1 = 0.8403 euros as of February 10, 2026.