Stichting Data Bescherming Nederland (SDBN) is taking the American technology company Adobe to court. According to the foundation, Adobe collects personal data of Dutch citizens on a large scale and trades this data with third parties so that they can offer targeted advertisements. Also, the company places cookies without the consent of users. This violates European privacy laws. SDBN announces the lawsuit on its website.
Adobe is a company known primarily to the general public for its graphics software. At the same time, it is the developer of data management platform Audience Manager, which is part of the Adobe Experience Cloud. Through this platform, the tech company collects all kinds of data from Internet users, such as information about your interests and browsing history, as well as privacy-sensitive information such as child desire or sexual preference. This data is collected via tens of thousands of popular apps and websites that many Dutch people use, such as Marktplaats, Buienradar, Bol.com and travel company TUI.
Adobe uses this data to create personalized user profiles. These profiles are then sold on to commercial parties. They in turn use this data to serve targeted ads to Internet users. All this is done without the explicit consent of users. In doing so, the company violates the General Data Protection Regulation (AVG).
Furthermore, the foundation argues that this data collection is not without risk for Internet users: a data breach could result in confidential data ending up on the street, or the information could be misused to commit identity fraud. Moreover, the company places tracking cookies without giving users the opportunity to refuse this. That too is against the law.
"Adobe disregards privacy while making a lot of money with your personal data. Stichting Data Bescherming Nederland is therefore now taking the company to court. The goal: to ensure that Adobe and other companies will handle personal data fairly in the future," says SDBN.
The foundation wants Adobe and all affiliated third parties to stop collecting personal data from Internet users without a valid basis. "Adobe unwittingly collects a great deal of data from unsuspecting Internet users. This data collection goes a lot further than most people realize. Moreover, this often happens even without your consent. Adobe does this purely for commercial gain," the foundation said.
Finally, SDBN says it wants the lawsuit to mitigate the risks of data collection. "If your data falls into the hands of cybercriminals, for example, there could be unpleasant consequences," it said. For these breaches, the foundation demands "appropriate compensation.
The foundation is calling on Internet users to join the mass tort claim. Registration is free. The lawsuit will be paid for by an outside litigation financier working on a "no cure, no pay" basis.
Stichting Data Bescherming Nederland has two more mass tort claims pending against U.S. tech companies. One claims that X, formerly known as Twitter, violated the privacy of millions of Dutch citizens by collecting and reselling privacy-sensitive data to online advertisers without permission. That case seeks damages of up to 2,500 euros per user.
In addition, the foundation started a lawsuit against Amazon for large-scale and unlawful data collection from Dutch consumers. In practice, refusal of tracking cookies would be impossible, as a result of which the company made a lot of money from personal data of Internet users.
Update (Dec. 14, 2023): in a written response, Adobe announces that the mass tort claim against the company is based on a misunderstanding. Not Adobe, but customers of the company who have their own websites or applications collect personal data from Internet users. All the American software developer does is process this data.
"This means that the customer is the data controller and therefore makes decisions and has responsibility over what cookies are placed on their websites," Adobe said. Customers are responsible for what they do with the data collected, according to the company. Adobe Experience Cloud, the platform around which SDBN's complaint revolves, includes options to comply with local privacy laws. Asking permission to set cookies is one of them.
SDBN calls Adobe's story "a familiar position. "Hence Stichting Data Bescherming Nederland has launched a mass claim," the foundation said in a response.
