Court Temporary Pauses Order to Suspend TikTok’s Data Transfers to China
A High Court judge has granted TikTok a temporary stay on a Data Protection Commission (DPC) decision that required the social media company to suspend data transfers to China by November 29. The stay will remain until early October when the court will consider TikTok’s application for an extended stay while the full legal challenge against the DPC’s decision, including a €530 million fine, is heard. The case has been admitted to the fast track commercial list without objection from the DPC.
TikTok argues that suspending data transfers would cause losses amounting to billions of euros, with reported losses already reaching €109 million. The company must show by July how it plans to comply with the DPC’s order, including steps taken, implementation details, and communication with users in the European Economic Area (EEA). The DPC’s order requires stopping remote access by Chinese engineers to data stored outside China and bringing data processing into compliance with EU data protection rules.
The DPC’s corrective order applies to data transfers from the EEA, which includes all EU member states plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway. The order sets a six-month deadline from 28 days after the order date for compliance, which falls on November 29. TikTok must take significant steps, such as relocating engineers and hiring new staff within the EEA, which could lead to irreversible damages and impact taxation and goodwill.
The judge emphasized the importance of granting the stay until October to ensure justice, noting that the DPC needed time to prepare its opposition. The case may also be mentioned during a vacation sitting of the Commercial Court in September to manage its progress. Counsel for the DPC opposed the stay application, citing the volume of paperwork involved.
