The EU Court has fined the European Commission for the first time for breaching its own regulations.

The General Court of the European Union has ordered the European Commission to compensate a German citizen for failing to adhere to its own data protection regulations. This marks the first instance in EU history.

This information was reported by RBC-Ukraine citing the court's decision.

According to reports, a resident of Munich visited the EU website several times between 2021 and 2022. There, he used the "Log in with Facebook" feature to register for a conference. After logging in, the man noticed that a connection to third-party providers was activated.

Ultimately, the court determined that the transfer of the user's IP address to Meta Platforms in the USA violated EU data protection rules.

It was noted that the European Commission transferred the man's personal data to the USA without proper safeguards. Now, the EC is required to pay compensation amounting to 400 euros.

It is worth mentioning that the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in Europe is regarded as one of the most stringent and comprehensive data privacy laws in the world.

Major companies such as Klarna, Meta, LinkedIn, and others have repeatedly faced significant fines from the EU for non-compliance with these regulations.

Recall that in December 2024, the European Commission announced the initiation of an official investigation against TikTok for potential violations of the Digital Services Act (DSA). The platform was previously suspected of manipulation during the elections in Romania.