A court in Amsterdam ruled that privacy litigation against Facebook in the Netherlands can proceed, rejecting the social network’s bid to have the lawsuit from two non-profit groups thrown out.
As TechCrunch reported, the Amsterdam-based Data Privacy Foundation and Dutch consumer advocacy organization Consumentenbond are suing Facebook on behalf of users over what they claim are violations of European Union privacy law. The lawsuit says Facebook has not provided enough details about the information it gathers from users, including what it does with the data, and therefore doesn’t have a legal basis to process the information.
Facebook tried to block the lawsuit claiming that the Amsterdam court doesn’t have jurisdiction over its European business, which it argues is subject to Irish law. The Court of Amsterdam disagreed, writing in its decision that “The Data Privacy Foundation may litigate before the Dutch court on behalf of Dutch users of the Facebook service against Facebook about whether Facebook has violated the privacy of its users.”
A Facebook spokesperson said in a statement emailed to The Verge that it was reviewing the court’s decision, noting that the ruling was procedural, and that the company would continue to defend its position in court. “We care about our users in the Netherlands and protecting their privacy is important to us,” the spokesperson said. “ Users have meaningful control over the data that they share on Facebook and we provide transparency around how their data is used.”
Update July 3rd, 12:22PM ET: Adds statement from Facebook
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