Recent Germany’s Federal Court of Justice’s decision indicates that all participants of 2018 and 2019 data breach scandal are eligible for compensation. The court stated that the loss of control is enough to warrant compensation and stated that users no longer need to show proof of loss of money.
German Court Rules Facebook Users Can Claim Compensation for 2018-2019 Data Breach
This decision arises from a recent occurrence whereby unauthorized third parties hacked user’s Facebook accounts by simply using phone numbers. It brings into spotlight the lack of adequate protection of users’ data on Facebook through which identity of thousands of users got compromised.
In so many of the cases, users have claimed that Meta, which owns Facebook, did not adequately protect their data. It has been followed by court cases in german for compensation for the emotional and security loss due to the leakage of users’ information.
Among other things, the Meta company, previously accused of various violations of users’ privacy, now has to calculate the financial cost of the court’s decision. The company has not made any statement about the decision but may engage in settling the issues.
This case serve as the reminder of how valuable and necessary are the solid data protection laws in the age of technology. As personal data is now a prime target for hackers, those courts are noticing a greater duty being placed on businesses to ensure user information security.
German Court Orders Re-examination of Facebook Data Breach Claims
A German court has this week demanded a review of all suits arising from data that was shared by Facebook’s friend search bar last year. The case was once thrown out at Cologne district court, but has now been returned, to decide if compensation is necessary for users who were offended by the images.
The contestant, who claimed 1,000 euros ($1,056) in damages in the case, stated that breach involved violation of his/her right to privacy. But the Federal Court of Justice (BGH ) held that in as much as the Claimant could not prove direct monetary loss, payment of around 100 euros would be reasonable.
The court also pointed out that now the lower court should decide whether the terms of use were comprehensible to the party. The ruling also has implications to the extent the users’ consent was freely given.
The case involves an unauthorized processing of personal information that was achieved by using Facebook’s look up tool. This breach has raised a number of questions bordering on the righteousness of Facebook’s privacy policies and how deceivingly it gets user consent.
This judgment may have broader implications for other privacy cases because more and more courts are paying attention to whether companies disclose users’ data collection and obtain their consent voluntarily. This may be a prescient example of how data protection claims are handled in the future.
Meta Disputes German Court Ruling on Compensation for Data Leak
Meta doesn’t agree with the demand for indemnification over a data breach incident that impacted six million people in Germany as the plaintiffs did not prove actual losses. The company was keen to point out that there was no breach of its data or an instance of hacking that was responsible for the leak, which was traced to the friends’ search feature in the site.
The recent decision made by Germany’s highest Federal Court of Justice (BGH) has come under criticism from a Meta spokesperson saying that it goes against the recent decision made by the European Court of Justice. Speaking for civil liability, the spokesperson stated that the same courts have thrown away thousands of similar claims because they could not find legal liability or damages in them.
In response to the mentioned 2021 issue, Meta claims that the systems of Facebook were not breached. However, the company argued that the information in question was collected with the help of the Find Friends’ option, which helps people locate their friends using the phone numbers. Meta claims it wasn’t a security breach at all.
The announcement made by the court to grant permission for the reconsideration of the claims have raised concern on issues to do with data privacy as well as the roles of technology companies like Meta. Regarding the topic, opponents of Meta have claimed that the company has not sufficiently safeguard the users’ data, and therefore it should be held legally responsible for a leakage that contains personal data.
Nevertheless, Meta has denied the legitimacy of such a decision, but this complaint will most likely become a reference for further data protection cases in Europe. If this kind of data protection laws increases in future, then more rigorous investigation of the companies’ data processing and user consent may emerge.
