Facebook lost a legal battle Friday with Ireland’s data privacy watchdog over a European Union privacy decision that could result in the social network being forced to stop transferring data to the U.S.
The Irish High Court rejected Facebook’s bid to block a draft decision by the country’s Data Protection Commission to inquire into, and order the suspension of, the company’s data flows between the European Union and the U.S.
Judge David Barniville wrote in his judgment that he concluded Facebook “must fail on those grounds of challenge and that it is, therefore, not entitled to any of the reliefs claimed in the proceedings.”
The Irish watchdog had launched its inquiry last year shortly after a ruling by the EU’s top court striking down an agreement covering EU-U.S. data transfers known as Privacy Shield, saying it didn’t do enough to protect users from U.S. government cybersnooping.
The Data Protection Commission “welcomes today’s judgment,” spokesman Graham Doyle said.