EU top court: Consumer groups can bring class actions for data protection infringements
The EU Court of Justice ruled on Thursday (28 April) that consumer groups can autonomously bring legal proceedings for alleged breaches of data protection rules as long as national law allows it.
The ruling results from a lawsuit by the Federation of German Consumer Organisations against Facebook. The social network was accused of not providing a clear explanation of how it was processing personal data on its gaming platform App Centre.
The EU’s data protection legislation, the GDPR, Article 80 in particular, leaves room for national legislation to allow consumer groups to bring representative actions when mandated by concerned individuals.
