An Austrian court has dismissed a class action suit concerning Facebook’s privacy policy, saying it has no jurisdiction over the case.The decision is a blow to Europe-v-Facebook, the privacy campaign group whose front-man, Max Schrems, filed the suit, and to the 25,000 Facebook users who had assigned their claims against the company to the case.Schrems, an Austrian national, filed suit against Facebook in the Vienna Commercial Court, which referred the case to the Vienna Regional Court.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
A Belgian privacy lawsuit targeting Facebook highlights the difficulties national regulators will face policing the activities of international Internet companies until new privacy laws are passed.The Belgian Commission for the Protection of Privacy is unhappy with the way Facebook handles the personal information of the nation’s citizens and in May asked it to change its policies in a number of “recommendations,” which have the force of law in the country.Facebook, though, maintains it doesn’t have to answer to the Belgian privacy watchdog as its international operations are run from Dublin, where the Irish Data Protection Commissioner oversees its compliance with the European Union Data Protection Directive as implemented under Irish law.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Peter Sayer and Loek Essers