Consumers' Association starts new lawsuit against Meta over use of personal data

The Consumers' Association, together with the Data Privacy Foundation, or DPS, has started a new lawsuit against Meta. The organizations were negotiating with Facebook's parent company about compensation for users, which came to nothing.

The organizations demand that Meta pay every Facebook user who has registered for the mass claim 750 euros in compensation for 'all harmful consequences of the collection and use of personal data'. In addition, DPS is demanding 500 euros for every Facebook and Instagram user for 'the illegal transfer of data to the United States'. Furthermore, DPS is asking the judge to award Facebook users an amount in compensation 'based on the value of their data that Meta has unlawfully used'.

The Consumers' Association says that all users in the Netherlands who after 1 had a Facebook account in April 2010 and wanted to be eligible for compensation, they could register for the lawsuit. Consumers who had a Facebook or Instagram account after May 25, 2018 and want to claim compensation for data transfers to the United States can also sign up. Users can sign up for both claims. The Consumers' Association tells NU.nl that 250,000 people have registered for the collective lawsuit.

Last year, the Consumers' Association and DPS won a lawsuit against Facebook about the processing of personal data for advertising purposes. The judge ruled that this processing was unlawful. Facebook also did not have permission to process special personal data, such as sexual preference or religion, while the platform did do this. Paying compensation to users was not part of the lawsuit. Facebook did have to pay the legal costs of 17,743.01 euros.