IAB Europe on Belgian Market Court referring TCF ruling to European Court of Justice

Yesterday, 7 September, IAB Europe acknowledged the interim ruling handed down today by the Belgian Market Court (part of the Brussels Court of Appeal) in connection with IAB Europe’s appeal of the February 2022 decision by the Belgian Data Protection Authority (APD) on IAB Europe and the Transparency & Consent Framework (TCF).

In its interim ruling, the Market Court has decided to refer preliminary questions to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) on how the concept of data controllership in the GDPR as it pertains, in this case, is to be interpreted and on whether a TC String (a digital signal containing user preferences) can be considered as “personal data” under the GDPR.

The referral to the CJEU means that a final judgement by the Market Court is unlikely until 2023 or even 2024.

IAB Europe has posted a statement on its website here for your reference.