The Ireland's Data Protection Commissioner (IDPC) has started the referral process to Europe's top court, to determine the validity of Facebook's legal agreements used by firms and large companies, such as Google and Apple, to transfer personal data of EU citizens to the U.S., media reports. IDPC aims for the EU Court of Justice (CJEU) to determine the validity of Facebook's 'model contracts. 'Only the CJEU and not a national court or the Data Protection Commissioner has the jurisdiction to rule a European Commission decision invalid. Under EU law, a transfer of data can only be made to a country outside the EU if that country ensures an adequate level of protection,' said Michael Collins, a lawyer for the Commissioner. An Austrian law student and privacy activist Max Schrems, previously made a complaint challenging Facebook's handling of his data in the U.S..