Advisor EU Court rejects class-action lawsuit against Facebook
An advocate general of the European Court of Justice has ruled in an opinion to this court that an Austrian, who started a case against Facebook for violating privacy in 2014, cannot do this collectively on behalf of 25,000 others.
Advocate General Michal Bobek points the possibility of a collective action, because under Austrian law such a action is only possible if an Austrian company is sued; a collective action is not possible if an Austrian consumer sues a company in another EU Member State. According to Bobek, someone who is able to sue a foreign party in his own country for his own interests cannot also start a case for an entire group at the same time.
The Advocate General did indicate that a way to stand up for the collective rights of a group is needed in the EU, but according to Bobek, politicians must make this possible through policy and legislation, and that is not up to the Court of Justice . Initiating a class action case is not very common in Europe, unlike the practice of class action cases in the United States.
The Austrian Max Schrems, a law student, can bring a case against Facebook in his own home country, the lawyer general ruled in his non-binding opinion. Facebook tried to prevent this by arguing that Schrems could not continue as a consumer, but should be seen as a company. In this way, Facebook was probably trying to force Schrems to bring a case in Ireland, where Facebook’s headquarters are located. That would throw up significant hurdles for Schrems, such as higher costs.
Schrems, who also brought about the Safe Harbor ruling, filed suit against Facebook in Vienna in 2014. People could register via a special page and at the time 25,000 people did so. Schrems is claiming 500 euros per person from Facebook, because the company allegedly committed various violations of privacy legislation.
The court of Vienna rejected the possibility of a class action case in 2015. According to the court, Schrems used Facebook commercially to promote his publications. The judge therefore found that he could not be regarded as a consumer, forcing Schrems to file his case in Dublin.
The case went to the highest Austrian court, which put questions to the EU Court; for example, there had to be clarity about whether European law allows a party, in this case Max Schrems, to bring his own complaints and the complaints of other persons to court at the same time. The judge wanted that too know whether it matters that the participants in such a case live in different European Member States or outside the EU.