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On 3 September 2025, the EU General Court (T-553/23, Latombe v Commission) dismissed an action challenging the European Commission's adequacy decision 2023/1795 of July 2023 on the EU–US Data Privacy Framework.
The applicant argued that the framework failed to provide EU citizens with a level of protection "essentially equivalent" to that guaranteed under EU law, a standard that had led the Court of Justice to invalidate both the Safe Harbour (2015) and the Privacy Shield (2020) in the well-known Schrems I and Schrems II rulings.
The Court, however, confirmed that the reforms introduced by the United States, in particular Executive Order 14086 and the creation of the Data Protection Review Court (DPRC), provide sufficient guarantees of independence and impartiality. It held that the DPRC qualifies as an effective redress mechanism in line with Article 47 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights.
The Court also addressed the issue of bulk collection of personal data by US intelligence agencies. It underlined that Schrems II does not require prior authorisation by an independent authority but only effective ex post judicial review. Since US law subjects these activities to such oversight by the DPRC, the Court found that the level of protection is essentially equivalent to that guaranteed under EU law.
By rejecting the applicant's claims, the General Court has upheld the Commission's adequacy decision as lawful.
Takeaway
This ruling brings welcome stability to transatlantic data transfers. For businesses, the decision means that data flows to the US can continue under the EU–US Data Privacy Framework with greater legal certainty. At the same time, companies must remain attentive to GDPR compliance: robust technical and organisational safeguards remain essential.
The Commission will continue to monitor the framework and retains the power to suspend, amend or revoke the framework if US protections were to weaken. It also remains to be seen whether the applicant will choose to appeal the General Court's decision before the Court of Justice.
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