A class action lawsuit accused Google of illegally using personal data on iPhones.
Google won a court victory in the UK in a class action lawsuit accusing it of illegally using personal data on iPhones, claiming up to $ 4.069 million in damages for users.
The British Supreme Court agreed with the American internet giant, restoring a first instance decision that considered that the lawsuit, led by the former head of an influential British consumer association, did not show that harm was inflicted on users.
The association “Google You Owe Us” (“Google, you owe us”), led by the former director of the consumer association Which ?, Richard Lloyd, was trying to obtain up to 3 billion pounds (4.069 million) in concept of compensation for over 4 million users in England and Wales.
He immediately regretted in a statement “the severe blow to UK consumers and the inability to demonstrate uniformity of damages to all plaintiffs.”
“To receive compensation for damages, it is necessary to demonstrate that there has been an illicit use by Google of the personal data of a specific individual,” says the statement of the Supreme Court, which summarizes the decision of Justice George Leggatt.
Requesting compensation without demonstrating “that the individual has suffered material damage or mental anguish as a result of this illicit use is, therefore, invalid and the authorization to sue Google outside its jurisdiction”, that is, the United States, “was correctly denied ”In the first instance, the judge concluded.
The lead lawyer for “Google, you owe it to us” James Oldnall, of the Milberg law firm, estimated that “today’s decision gives Google and the rest of the big technology companies the green light to continue misusing our personal data without our consent knowing that they will not be punished ”.
In the first instance, the London High Court had refused in October 2018 to allow the class action to proceed, before the Court of Appeal in October 2019 ruled otherwise, prompting Google to appeal to the Supreme Court.
The association accused Google of circumventing the security options of the iPhone and collecting personal data between August 2011 and February 2012 through the Safari browser.
According to the lawsuit, information was collected on the social or ethnic origin, health, political opinions, sexual preferences or purchasing habits of users, adding that this information was offered to advertisers.
A similar case was brought to court in the UK in 2015 by three individuals. They reached a confidential settlement that opened the door to a class action lawsuit, according to “Google you owe us.” (I)
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