Christina Spicer  |  April 26, 2021

Category: Legal News

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Google Fights £750M Privacy Claim in Bid to Stop Class Actions

Google has lined up with other tech giants, including Facebook and TikTok, in an effort to block a £750 million claim alleging the company illegally tracked users.  

Plaintiff Richard Lloyd had launched the claim in 2017. Lloyd, former director of the consumer rights group Which?, claims that Google tracked internet activity of more than 4 million iPhone users in Britain between Aug. 9, 2011 and Feb. 15, 2012. 

Google is reportedly scheduled to argue in the UK Supreme Court that Lloyd should be barred from his legal claims against the tech giant. Indeed, Google has been successful in the past, convincing the High Court that individuals must bring their own legal actions, rather than Lloyd’s group claim. However, the Court of Appeals allowed the group claim to continue against Google in a ruling last summer.  

Google, along with other tech companies, such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and TikTok, face similar claims and have gone on the offensive, reports This is Money. The companies have reportedly hired influential lobbyists in the industry to make statements in their defence in a Supreme Court hearing.  

“These claims relate to events that took place a decade ago and that we addressed at the time. We look forward to making our case in court,” Google reportedly said in a statement regarding the group claim.  

Legal experts told This is Money that the outcome of this group claim may herald additional class action lawsuits in the UK in defence of consumer privacy.  

“We don’t have a class action system in the UK like there is in the US. People have to issue their own claim. This situation is exciting because it might change that,” a media disputes legal expert told reporters.  

The class action lawsuit against Google claims that the company went around privacy settings on iPhones and inserted cookies on Safari browsers for advertising purposes in violation of the UK’s Data Protection Act.  

“I’ve rarely seen such a big opportunity to hold one of the world’s most powerful companies to account,’ Lloyd told reporters. “The law is there to stop businesses misusing millions of consumers’ personal data, but we need the means to exercise our legal rights.” 

The company will reportedly attempt to make its case in the Supreme Court this week.  

Do you think Google and other tech giants should face legal action over iPhone and other user tracking? Tell us in the comment section below.  

The plaintiff is represented by Mr. Hugh Tomlinson QC, Mr. Oliver Campbell QC, and Ms. Victoria Wakefield QC of Mishcon de Reya LLP. 

The Google Tracking iPhone Users Class Action Lawsuit is Richard Lloyd v. Google LLC, Case No. HQ17M01913 in the Royal Courts of Justice, London, United Kingdom. 

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