Europe's General Data Protection Regulation ( GDPR ) has been in effect for almost three years, yet it was only a few weeks ago that the first notable fine was imposed on one of the major US tech companies .
Specifically, social media platform Twitter was ordered to pay a fine of $548,000 (€450,000) for a 2019 data breach
And now a case involving Facebook in Belgium could trigger a change in the way GDPR fines are imposed. If the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) follows the attorney general's advice, the company could face more lawsuits and perhaps more fines.
According to Advocate General Michal Bobek, senior legal advisor to the CJEU, national privacy authorities in any EU country can sometimes take action against a company, even if the company has its main office elsewhere.
If the court agrees with the attorney general's opinion then this could change the way companies interpret a crucial part of the GDPR, the so-called one-stop shop mechanism.
Additionally, on Wednesday, the longest-running and perhaps most significant tech privacy case in Europe, involving Facebook, was settled.
The Irish regulator's most prominent privacy case is the one launched against Facebook more than seven years ago by Austrian lawyer and activist Max Schrems.
The case concerns Facebook's data transfers to the US, which raises privacy concerns . So far, it has led the CJEU to annul multiple data-sharing agreements between the US and the EU, but it has not actually stopped Facebook from sending user data out of the country.
This is because, according to the most recent CJEU ruling in July last year, it is now up to the Irish authority to request the suspension of Facebook's data flow, bearing in mind that US laws do not provide Schrems with the data protection provided for by EU law.
Schrems sued the Irish regulator and the hearing was due to take place in the Irish High Court on Wednesday, but this morning it was announced that the two parties had reached a settlement. The regulator will “close” the existing case with Facebook shortly, Schrems said.
