The Consumentenbond and the Data Privacy Foundation are jointly launching a lawsuit against Meta. They demand that the U.S. tech company pay damages to Dutch Facebook and Instagram users for collecting and selling customer data. More than 250,000 Dutch people have signed up for the class action lawsuit. The Consumentenbond announced the lawsuit via a press release (1).
The Consumers' Association and the Data Privacy Foundation have been waging a legal battle against Meta for some time. The interest groups accuse parent company Meta of having collected and shared data from Dutch Facebook and Instagram users with advertisers for years. According to European privacy laws, Meta should have asked for permission to do this, but never did.
In addition, Meta did not inform users about the data the company collected from them and sold to third parties. Among other things, Facebook was interested in the apps users had installed on their smartphones, what they shared with their friends and browsing history. All of this was done outside the app. "Thus, Facebook was enriching itself unjustifiably and at the expense of its users," the Data Privacy Foundation said in 2020 (2).
Last year, the Amsterdam District Court ruled that between April 1, 2010 and January 1, 2020, Facebook unlawfully collected (3) personal data of Dutch users for advertising purposes. Namely, there was no legally valid basis for this. Also, Dutch users were insufficiently informed that their data was shared with third parties.
When the court handed down its ruling, the Consumers' Association and the Data Privacy Foundation entered into talks with Meta. The interest groups demanded that every Dutch Facebook user receive compensation of 750 euros for the harmful consequences of collecting and using personal data.
For every Dutch Facebook and Instagram user, they are asking for financial compensation of 500 euros for the illegal transfer of data to the US. Finally, the organizations ask the court to award Facebook users a compensation amount based on the value of their data that Meta unlawfully used.
Negotiations between the interest groups and Meta came to nothing. That is why the Consumers' Association and the Data Privacy Foundation are launching a mass claim for damages against the technology company. Over 250,000 Dutch people have signed up for this class action lawsuit.
"Unfortunately, Meta continues to refuse to compensate duped consumers even after the court ruled that Meta acted unlawfully. So we will have to go to court again to still force compensation," said Sandra Molenaar, director of the Consumers' Association. She is convinced she will win the lawsuit. "The court in Amsterdam already proved us right last year. And we also have rulings from the European Court of Justice and various regulators in our favor."
Molenaar is referring to a ruling by the Data Protection Commission (DPC). The Irish regulator imposed a €1.2 billion (4) fine on Meta in May 2023 for illegally collecting and transmitting personal data of European users to the US.
Dick Bouman, president of the Data Privacy Foundation, concurs. He believes that Meta's practices have curtailed users' freedom of choice in order to invade their privacy. "Meta knowingly violates the law and earns billions by doing so. Users have lost control and authority over their own data as a result. They risk future misuse of their data and discrimination."
https://www.consumentenbond.nl/acties/facebook
https://www.vpngids.nl/nieuws/privacyorganisaties-eisen-compensatie-voor-nederlandse-facebook-gebruikers/
https://www.vpngids.nl/nieuws/facebook-verwerkte-jarenlang-onrechtmatig-persoonsgegevens-nederlanders/
https://www.vpngids.nl/nieuws/dpc-legt-recordboete-van-12-miljard-euro-op-aan-meta/
