A representative class action against Facebook has begun moving forward after a Vienna court ruled that Facebook must address privacy-related complaints against the company.
In early August, a group of users led by privacy activist and lawyer Max Schrems filed a lawsuit in a Vienna court against Facebook’s Irish subsidiary, alleging that Facebook had violated multiple privacy laws.
The complaints include the following: Facebook’s data use policy violates European Union (EU) law. Facebook is able to reuse data without obtaining valid consent from users. Data is transferred to third-party applications without users’ permission.
Source: Class Action Against Facebook in Vienna—Alleged Violations of Privacy Law – CNET Japan.
It appears that a class action against FB has begun moving forward in Europe.
This group previously filed a lawsuit in an Irish court and appears to have secured measures such as limiting the retention period for ad-click data to two years and warning users about the facial recognition feature.
The current lawsuit was filed in the Vienna Regional Court, reportedly with more than 20,0005000 people named as plaintiffs and each seeking 500 euros in damages.
I occasionally hear that class actions in Europe are not very effective, but this is a development that I would like to continue watching.
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