Dutch Court Rules Against Facebook For Data Misuse

On Wednesday, a Dutch court ruled that Facebook Ireland had violated the law by improperly using personal data from Dutch citizens between 2010 and 2020 during a class action lawsuit. The subsidiary of Meta was found to be in violation, Reuters reported. 

“Personal information was processed for the purposes of advertising when in this case that is not allowed,” a summary of the Amsterdam court ruling said.

“Personal information was given to third parties without Facebook users being informed and without there being a legal basis to do so.”

Read more: Judge Tosses Claims Against LinkedIn Over Facebook Data Pact

The Netherlands’ Competition Authority has directed a decision to Facebook Ireland in relation to Dutch user data processing. No damages claims have been made at this stage, and the details of the case are yet to be determined.

A spokesperson for Meta said the company was “pleased” with parts of the decision but would appeal others, noting that some of the claims date back more than a decade. “We know that privacy is important to our Dutch users and we want them to have control over how their data is used,” the person said.