The Court of Appeal in Belfast had concluded in December 2016 that Facebook is entitled to the protection of the e-Commerce Regulations against claims for damages under the Data Protection Act 1998.

Permission to appeal the judgment was refused on the ground that it “did not raise an arguable point of law of general public importance which ought to be considered by the Supreme Court at this time”.

Furthermore, the Supreme Court said the introduction of new legislation had made an appeal “academic”.