Google, the leading tech giant, may face a massive claim for privacy violations. The Dutch Consumers' Association and Stichting Bescherming Privacybelangen are demanding that Google immediately stop tracking, collecting and selling consumer data without their consent and pay compensation to all Dutch users.
The groups are threatening to take the case to court if Google fails to meet these claims. The claim is open to all Dutch residents who have used at least one Google product or service since March 1, 2012.
Google is accused of collecting large amounts of personal data through its ubiquitous products and services, even when users have chosen not to allow it. According to Consumers Union, Google then creates in-depth profiles of consumers based on this data and sells it to other parties, including those outside Europe, in violation of European privacy laws.
Moreover, the groups claim, this practice exposes Dutch consumers to the risk of surveillance by foreign authorities. According to the Consumers Union and the Foundation for the Protection of Privacy Interests, Google has continued to enrich itself for years at the expense of consumer privacy.
The breaches are serious, but the scale of them makes them worse. Almost everyone in the Netherlands is affected, said Sandra Molenaar, director of the Consumers Union. She urges Dutch residents to sign up for the group claim to make a fist together against these kinds of abuses.