Facebook and Google Face $8.8 Billion Lawsuits Over GDPR Compliance
Privacy activist group Noyb files massive $8.8 billion lawsuits against Facebook and Google on the first day of GDPR enforcement. The group claims the tech giants force users to surrender personal data under the threat of account deletion.
Facebook and Google face $8.8 billion in combined lawsuits immediately following the implementation of Europe's General Data Protection Regulation. Consumer rights organization Noyb, led by privacy activist Max Schrems, files four separate legal complaints against Google's Android operating system as well as Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
The lawsuits allege that both tech giants illegally coerce users into sharing personal data for targeted advertising. Noyb claims the companies present users with an ultimatum to either agree to comprehensive data collection or face immediate account deletion, a practice Schrems compares to a forced election process rather than a free choice.
If found guilty of violating the new privacy framework, each company faces potential fines of up to four percent of their global revenue. While both Google and Facebook recently update their policies to align with GDPR requirements, the activist group argues that these changes fail to provide genuine, unforced consent as the law strictly demands.