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This article was originally featured in De Telegraaf on 23.11.20. 

At the beginning of December, a class action lawsuit against the American tech giants Oracle and Salesforce will commence. This may result in ten million Dutch people receiving hundreds of euros in compensation.

What’s this case about?

The Privacy Collective is suing Salesforce and Oracle because, according to lawyer Christiaan Alberdingk Thijm of bureau Brandeis, they violate the GDPR in countless ways. They do this by using cookies to collect data from millions of Dutch people for profiles, which are distributed among advertisers during online auctions of advertising space. This sharing of data is done without the user's consent. According to Alberdingk Thijm, it is illegal for that reason alone. So, according to the collective, compensation for the general public is in order. 

What should be the amount of compensation?

Both Oracle and Salesforce are sued for € 500 per "victim". That amount is based on a fee the Council of State awarded to someone whose data was leaked in April. With ten million Dutch people who would receive twice € 500, this comes down to € 10 billion.

Did those ten million people invest to participate in this case?

That's not necessary. Under new rules, people can report after the case is done to collect their share of the claim.

The Privacy Collective is suing Salesforce and Oracle because, according to lawyer Christiaan Alberdingk Thijm of bureau Brandeis, they violate the GDPR in countless ways.

So, free money. What’s the catch?

The Privacy Collective foundation is a non-profit organisation, but the financier can make money from it: depending on the proceeds between 10 and 25% of the granted claim. Also, claim handlers who have to process any profit administratively must still retain something from it. Still - if the claim is granted in full - there is still an amount of "€ 850 and a bit" left per person, according to Alberdingk Thijm.

Who is supporting this case? 

In addition to some 60,000 likes on the website, the collective also receives support from parties such as Bits of Freedom and NOYB from the Austrian privacy activist Max Schrems. A UK claim is also in preparation. Oracle and Salesforce are of course less enthusiastic. Oracle calls it "a misleading lawsuit" based on "misrepresentation". Salesforce says it "disagrees with the allegations" and "intends to show that they are groundless." Regardless, The Privacy Collective are moving forward with the claim. 

Your data should not be for sale. The Privacy Collective are taking Oracle and Salesforce to court for the misuse of millions of peoples data and we need your help! If you believe that tech giants should be held accountable for their use of people’s data please support our claim here. Because your privacy matters.