Google Decision Opens the Door for American-Style Class Action in U.K.: Analyzing What Constitutes Harm

Cybersecurity Law Report
July.09.2020

Members of our Cyber, Privacy & Data Innovation team authored an article for Cybersecurity Law Report that examines the harm and liability issues raised in a recent Supreme Court of England and Wales decision allowing Google to appeal a previous ruling allowing a privacy class action to proceed against the company. The article, authored by Keily Blair, Doug Meal, James Lloyd, Matthew LaBrie and Lewis Brady, concludes that if the class action is permitted to move forward, it would open the door to Representative Actions in the United Kingdom, in which consumers could seek damages for the mere fact of a data breach or other misappropriation of data without alleging any traditionally recognized legally actionable injury. This article is the first in a two-part series.