A court on Amsterdam has agreed to hear a case against Facebook by the non-profit Data Privacy Stichting (DPS) and Consumentenbond union for alleged privacy violations. Facebook had asked for the case to be declared inadmissible or suspended.
The court said it was competent to hear the case, both under the EU GDPR in effect since May 2018 and the national data protection legislation prior to that. It also rejected Facebook's argument that similar cases are already underway in Austria and Germany.
The non-profit was formed in 2019 in order to assemble participants in the suit. It has hired the American law form Lieff Cabraser, which is covering the case's costs in exchange for 18 percent of any eventual damages. The class-action construction was accepted by the court.
The court also upheld the right to sue Facebook Netherlands, based in Amsterdam, as the data processing entity. It sells advertising on the Dutch market and processes personal data of Dutch users. The Dutch subsidiary was formed in April 2010. Facebook had argued that under the 'one-stop shop' rules of the GDPR, only its European head office in Ireland has to answer to privacy claims.
After all the arguments were rejected, Facebook has until 20 October for a final response, before the full court hearing of the case is scheduled.
