Meta Loses German Court Fight Over Global Data Leak in 2021
- Users can claim compensation but only around €100 each
- Judgment will guide outcome of thousands of cases in Germany
The German litigation is linked to the massive 2021 data leak, when personal information on 533 million Facebook users emerged on a hacker website.
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Meta Platforms Inc. risks being on the hook for compensation claims from thousands of German users after it lost a top court ruling over the 2021 global leak of half a billion people’s private data.
In a groundbreaking ruling, the Federal Court of Justice, Germany’s highest tribunal in civil matters, eased the standard of proof for Facebook users seeking compensation for the data theft. It’s enough to show they were victims of the leak, they don’t have to additionally prove they suffered in a particular way, the court said in a statement on Monday’s judgment.