Yazılar

TikTok Can Keep EU-China Data Transfers During Appeal

/in /tarafından

TikTok will be allowed to continue transferring user data from the European Union to China while it appeals a major Irish privacy ruling, after Ireland’s Supreme Court confirmed a temporary suspension of the transfer ban.

The case stems from a 530 million euro fine imposed in May by Ireland’s Data Protection Commission, TikTok’s lead privacy regulator in the EU. Regulators argued TikTok failed to guarantee that EU user data remotely accessed by staff in China received privacy protections equivalent to European standards. The order required TikTok to suspend those transfers unless compliance issues were resolved within six months.

However, Ireland’s High Court previously paused enforcement of the transfer ban, ruling that immediate suspension could cause severe and difficult-to-measure business damage to TikTok, while consumer risk during the appeal period appeared limited. The Supreme Court has now upheld that temporary pause until the High Court delivers its final judgment.

TikTok maintains it has never provided European user data to Chinese authorities and says regulators did not fully account for security systems introduced in 2023, including independent oversight of remote data access.

The ruling is significant because it temporarily preserves TikTok’s operational flexibility in Europe while broader questions remain over cross-border data governance, Chinese access concerns, and GDPR-level privacy protections.

The final outcome of the appeal could shape not only TikTok’s future in Europe but also wider standards for how global technology firms manage international data flows under EU privacy law.

Microsoft Strengthens Data Protection for European Cloud Clients

/in /tarafından

Microsoft announced on Monday that it will ensure data from its European cloud customers remains within Europe, under the jurisdiction of European law, with operational oversight by local personnel and complete customer control.

This move comes amid growing concerns from European governments and companies over the risk of sensitive data being transferred outside the continent, particularly to the United States. The concerns have intensified calls for stricter data sovereignty, prompting American tech giants like Microsoft to adopt more transparent and compliant data governance policies.

As part of these efforts, Microsoft reaffirmed commitments made in April to strengthen safeguards as it scales its cloud and AI infrastructure in Europe. These include compliance with European legislation aimed at curbing the dominance of major technology platforms.

The company also disclosed that any remote access to systems handling European data by Microsoft engineers will be permitted and actively monitored in real-time by personnel based in Europe. This measure is designed to bolster customer trust and ensure alignment with European data protection standards.

Microsoft’s new sovereign private cloud, which supports these enhanced protections, is currently in preview phase and is expected to become generally available later this year.

EU Court Adviser Supports WhatsApp in Privacy Fine Dispute

/in /tarafından

An adviser to Europe’s top court has backed WhatsApp in its appeal against the EU privacy watchdog’s decision to increase its fine for data privacy violations. The case stems from a 2021 ruling in which Ireland’s data protection authority fined WhatsApp 225 million euros ($242.2 million). The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) intervened at the time, compelling Ireland to raise the penalty.

WhatsApp had challenged the EDPB’s authority to impose such a directive, but a lower tribunal ruled in 2022 that the company lacked standing to sue the regulator directly. Advocate General Tamara Capeta of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has now disagreed with that assessment, stating that WhatsApp’s challenge is valid and should be reconsidered. The CJEU is expected to issue its final ruling in the coming months.