EU Top Court Says Facebook, Other Big Tech Also Subject To EU Privacy Rulings: Report - Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG), Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL), Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)

The E.U. Court Of Justice clarified that the big tech firms would be liable to national data watchdogs’ investigations irrespective of the company’s original domicile signifying disappointment for companies like Facebook Inc FB, Reuters reported.
Facebook faced oversight by the Irish privacy authority under GDPR rules due to its European head office in Ireland.
The same ruling holds good for Alphabet Inc’s GOOG GOOGL, Google, Twitter Inc TWTR, and Apple Inc AAPL, which have their E.U. headquarters in Ireland.
Multiple E.U. national watchdogs have long complained regarding their Irish counterpart’s delayed decision-making. Previously, Ireland dismissed the complaints citing extra careful in dealing with powerful and rich tech giants.
The E.U.’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) gave data regulators record powers to fine companies as much as 4% of their annual sales, Bloomberg reported. The one-stop-shop policy raised questions regarding E.U.’s regulatory authority other than the Irish to sanction a company like Facebook.
The case dates back to a privacy order by the Belgian data protection watchdog for Facebook to stop tracking cookies without user consent. Facebook only acknowledged the Irish authority’s right to rule on its activities.
Ireland’s privacy chief claimed at least 27 open privacy probes on Apple, Google, and other tech companies. Facebook accounted for nine of these inquiries, and more are pending into its WhatsApp and Instagram units.
Under certain conditions, a national supervisory authority may exercise its power to bring any alleged infringement of the GDPR before a member state court, even though that authority is not the lead supervisory authority concerning that processing, CJEU said.
Price action: FB shares closed higher by 0.14% at $337.25 in the premarket session on the last check Tuesday.

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