A law student from Austria has taken Facebook to the European Court of Justice on grounds that the social network has violated European Union law with its data policy. Max Schrems, who is also a data-privacy campaigner, alleges Facebook provided user data to the U.S National Security Agency. Schrems has turned the case into a class action lawsuit inviting other users to join. In less than a week, 25,000 users have joined Schrems in “Europe vs Facebook” case.
The case is open for participation to every Facebook user except users in the US and Canada who have a contract with Facebook USA, but has hit the max number of people due to administration logistics.
“The rest of the world has a contract with Facebook Ireland. The lawsuit only targets Facebook Ireland,” explains Schrems website.
The lawsuit is being handled by law financier (ROLAND ProzessFinanz) who will take care of all the costs, whether or not Facebook is found guilty. The suite is claiming €500 per user, and if Facebook agrees to settle or found guilty, the lawyers will take 20 percent of the award of the total €12.5 million.
“The main point is that the major internet companies do not respect our fundamental rights to privacy and data protection. Facebook is only one example of many, but one has to start somewhere,” says Schrems.
