What happened?
Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC) imposed a record fine of €530 million (approx. $600 million) on TikTok in May 2025. The reason: personal data of EU users was partly stored or made accessible in China – without adequate safeguards against state access
What is the authority demanding?
TikTok must end data exports to China within 6 months – or prove that EU protection standards apply here. The company has announced that it will appeal against the decision.
We clarify:
- Can this also affect German companies? (Spoiler: Yes)
- What should German companies do now?
The TikTok ruling is a wake-up call – the EU data protection authorities are ready to take action. German companies should also urgently review their cross-border data flows – otherwise they could face heavy fines.