- This Leipzig ruling is notable, but the practical impact may be more limited than the €5,000 figure suggests. While the court explicitly said users don't need to prove individual damages to sue, European class action mechanisms are still quite different from US-style litigation.
Germany doesn't have the same litigation incentive structures as the US - no contingency fees, loser-pays costs, and relatively limited collective redress options. Most German consumers aren't going to file individual €5,000 lawsuits over tracking pixels, especially given the legal costs and time involved.
Personally, I hope this gets picked up by a consumer protection organization or a well-funded litigation group. Germany has been gradually expanding its collective action framework, but it's still primarily driven by qualified entities rather than individual plaintiffs.
- It should be noted that this may not stand on appeal. The full decision is not yet available. All we know is from the press statement.
For example, the court ruled that the plaintiff is entitled to these damages without even hearing them personally on what kind of injury they sustained. This is an interesting direction, and we will see how it is argued in the decision itself. I would assume this could be something that Meta challenges on appeal.
Another way to go would be to argue that this lawsuit involves unresolved questions of EU law that need to be addressed by the ECJ.
In either case, this verdict will create some legal uncertainty in the short term, and I assume many people will sue---but we shall see what happens on appeal and perhaps at the ECJ, which will perhaps be a couple of years out.
- Can't some shady legal firm now just dig out who is in the exact same situation as this user, and sue on behalf of them, keeping (say) 10%? I'd be happy to let them.
But in the end this kind of thing shouldn't be regulated by lawsuits from individuals. The fines as I remember it can be up to 4% global annual revenue and it's about time someone actually handed a fine of 4% global annual revenue to a company the size of Meta, so companies finally realize that the law isn't just a recommendation.
by jxjnskkzxxhx
15 subcomments
- You guys remember how 5+ years ago, an headline like this on HN would invariably prompt cries from the Americans that this was just the Europeans finding excuses to take advantage and steal from poor innocent American companies. How the mood has changed on this huh. I'm glad to see the European approach vindicated, even if at times not strong enough.
- I really hope it turns into a class action because I'd so wish to be part of it
by subscribed
0 subcomment
- Can't wait for this to hit the fan: https://wire.com/en/blog/metas-stealth-tracking-another-eu-w...
- And, just like always, nothing meaningful will be done.
- Interesting that the court emphasized identifiability even without logging in. That cuts right through the usual "anonymous tracking" defense a lot of companies hide behind
by VikingTechGuy
0 subcomment
- You can read full analysis here:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/5000-pixel-tracker-why-latest...
In Germany consumers does not need to file a lawsuit, they are included by default, which is very different than all other European countries.
by Biologist123
0 subcomment
- Very interesting. Could become a geopolitical and trade football between Europe and US. Tariffs anyone? Ultimately it’s a question of power: will Europe allow its citizens to be predated upon? My guess is probably.
by VikingTechGuy
0 subcomment
- You can scan any website or ecommerce solution and see which 3rd parties they load before consent using this free privacy scanner -> https://privacyscanner.aesirx.io/
by redleader55
0 subcomment
- I have a few big problems with this ruling:
1. The sum. You are tracked and you get shown some ads. How does that causes you 5k EUR in damages?
2. Responsibility. If a site decides to add tracking or ads from a company, is only the ads company responsible for the tracking and damages?
3. Many of the services on the internet are free or cheaper because of ads. Because of that I find the attitude of the judges making these rulings disingenuous.
4. How much of this is outrage against American companies caused by the rift between US and Europe?
- Call me cynical, but nothing's going to change
by charcircuit
0 subcomment
- Just because a profile can be valuable, that doesn't mean that someone creating that profile damages you by that amount. If I document a celebrity's hobbies I'm not damaging the celebrity.
by gherkinnn
2 subcomments
- Meta and their scummy little ways. And this is just what we know they're up to.
by PicassoCTs
6 subcomments
- The denial to market by vetoing is working, but its not a long term strategy. To push that back, the eu would have to push its own social network alternative, that undermines Metas growth in those fields.
I can not see that yet-
- [flagged]
- [flagged]
- Nice!
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