ECJ ruling on data protection could impact Facebook and Google

It is a ruling that could have big implications for companies such as Facebook and Google, operating across multiple EU countries.

The ECJ ruled that if a company operates a service in the native language of a country, and has representatives in that country, then it can be held accountable by the country’s national data protection agency despite not being headquartered in the country.

The case was brought by the Hungarian data protection authority against property website Weltimmo, which operates a property advertising service in Hungary but is based in Slovakia. The ECJ decided that Weltimmo could be liable for fines imposed by the Hungarian authority for breach of national data protection law.

Before the judgment, companies such as Facebook which choose to headquarter their European operations in one country, such as Ireland, were thought to be subject to regulation only within that country. The companies could then operate in any EU member state without having to gain regulatory approval in each country.

New rules governing the one-stop-shop approach to regulation across Europe are currently under development having been proposed by the European Commission.