LONDON: A proposed multi-billion pound class action lawsuit against Google alleging that the internet giant has stealthily tracked millions of iPhone users is unworkable and cannot continue, the Supreme Court said on Wednesday.
Antony White, a lawyer for Google, announced on the first day of a two-day hearing that the first US-style data protection lawsuit under English law could only appeal if a data protection breach resulted in applicants being harmed.
“It is not my case that the loss of personal information does not have serious consequences, but it may not always be in a way that leads to compensation,” he said, adding that a uniform award also does not apply to the different uses of the phone would take into account.
Richard Lloyd, a former director of consumer rights group Which? Leads the claim that the fledgling UK class action lawsuit regime is expanding – and billions of pounds of privacy claims against tech giants like Facebook, TikTok and YouTube rest on the judgment.
Lloyd previously estimated that the damage per iPhone user could be up to £ 750, which could potentially result in more than £ 3 billion ($ 4.2 billion) in damage if a future attempt is successful.
The case, which was filed on behalf of more than four million Apple iPhone users, depends on whether or not Google breached its obligations as a data controller by secretly collecting browser-generated data and then offering it to advertisers in 2011 and 2012 – and whether or not A class action lawsuit can take place in the UK.
Experts say the case is “extremely significant” and warn companies that collect a lot of personal data and use it for commercial purposes to see if they are acting fairly and transparently.
“If the verdict is in favor of the applicants, the floodgates will be open to a tsunami of representative data class actions in the UK,” said Julian Copeman, partner at Herbert Smith Freehills.
Critics of “opt-out” class actions, which automatically include a defined group in a lawsuit unless individuals unsubscribe, say it can lead to baseless claims and lavish profits for litigants and their funders.
Proponents say they allow easier access to justice, especially when individual claims are too small to be prosecuted individually, and that alternative “opt-in” disputes, where each claimant signs up, are costly and time consuming.
The Federation of British Industries, a trade organization, says such cases could be “extremely damaging” and notes that the risk of ruinous claims for damages could lead to a settlement regardless of the merits of the case.
