UK Case Tests the Territorial Application of the GDPR to U.S. Run Website
The recent UK case of Soriano v Forensic News and Others tested the territorial reach of the General Data Protection Regulation and represents the first UK judgment dealing with the territorial scope of the GDPR. Mr. Soriano argued that because the Forensic News site used cookies for targeted online advertising, it had engaged in monitoring of people in the EU, and thus the GDPR’s territorial scope test was met.
Court held that the use of cookies for behavioral advertising purposes was not “related to” Mr. Soriano’s real complaint. In its judgement, the Court stated that, “the Defendant’s journalistic activities have been advanced not through any deployment of these cookies.” However, he was given permission to serve proceedings outside of the UK in respect of the misuse of private information claim (for the photos only) and the defamation claim.
