Transatlantic Trouble? Not This Time! Latombe's Challenge To EU-US Data Transfers Fails

The General Court of the European Union today handed down its judgment in the case of Latombe v Commission (T553/23) underscoring the continuing validity of the EU-US Data Privacy Framework (DPF) as a lawful transfer mechanism under Article 45 GDPR.

What was the case all about?

By way of reminder Philippe Latombe, a French MP and CNIL Commissioner, lodged a request for the annulment of the DPF at the Court of Justice for the European Union (CJEU) on 6 September 2023, making clear he was doing so in a personal capacity and not as a politician or member of a DPA.

Unlike the previous Schrems litigation, which involved preliminary rulings by the CJEU, M. Latombe brought a direct annulment action against the EU Commission's adequacy decision, which is the basis that underpins the DPF. This is a procedural and direct challenge and it is widely speculated this route was used to enable a quicker resolution.