Karlsruhe: BGH judgment could help Facebook victims!

Karlsruhe: BGH judgment could help Facebook victims!

Karlsruhe, Deutschland - Karlsruhe (dpa)-A groundbreaking judgment could have far-reaching consequences for Facebook users in Germany! After a massive date of data, in which the data of over 533 million users from 106 countries came online, the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) shows the first signs that those affected can hope for damages. The presiding judge Stephan Seiters made it clear that the loss of control over personal data could be sufficient to assert claims. The plaintiffs only have to prove that their data was used illegally, but not that they suffer from intangible damage such as fears or worries.

The scandal about Facebook data

The data scandal that came to light in April 2021 continues to cause excitement! Unknown people had exploited a function to search for friends in order to use the sensitive information from millions of users and then made it open to the public. Despite numerous complaints that have been rejected in most cases before state and higher regional courts, there is hope for the highest judicial clarification. The judgment of the BGH could not only be important for the plaintiffs, but also for many other procedures that are currently pending in Germany.

The Facebook group Meta, on the other hand, remains calm and sees the lawsuits as unfounded. Attorney Martin Mekat from the Freshfields law firm emphasized after the negotiation that there was no hack of the Facebook systems and therefore there was no data protection violation. But the legal disputes are far from over, and those affected are eagerly awaiting the final judgment of the BGH, which could set the course for the future of data protection laws