typical cases
[USA] DoubleClick Inc. Privacy Litigation
Rule: An Internet company does not violate the Electronic Communications Privacy Act’s prohibition on unauthorized access to stored electronic communications if the company stores and accesses cookies placed on an Internet user’s hard drive.
Learn More3/31/2001[USA] Pharmatrak, Inc. Privacy Litigation
Intentionally intercepting website users’ personal information without consent violates the Electronic Communications Privacy Act.
Learn More5/9/2003[China] Illegally obtaining data by Cookie attacks may lead to Crime of Illegally Obtaining Computer Information System Data
Valid cookies during user login and access belong to identity authentication information protected by criminal law, and the behavior obtained by the defendant illegally is suspected of a crime. Crime of illegally obtaining computer information system data According to judicial interpretation, the data to be protected should be identity authentication information.
Learn More5/2/2014[China] Privacy Dispute between Baidu Netcom Technology Co., LTD and Zhu Ye
Nanjing Intermediate People's Court approved the practice that cookie collection policy can be embedded in privacy policy in the case of anonymous information and other non-sensitive information.
Learn More5/6/2015
[USA] GOOGLE COOKIE PLACEMENT CONSUMER PRIVACY LITIGATION
Internet users brought actions against internet advertising providers, alleging that providers placed tracking cookies on users' browsers in contravention of browsers' cookie blockers, and asserting claims for violation of the federal Wiretap Act, the Stored Communications Act (SCA), and the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFFA), and for privacy claims and various statutory violations under California law.
Learn More11/12/2015United States of America v. LAI Systems
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) brought a complaint against LAI Systems, LLC (LAI) , alleging that LAI violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (COPPA).
Learn More12/17/2015[USA] Facebook Internet Tracking Litigation
Internet users brought putative class action against operator of social networking website, alleging that website embedded “cookies” in users' internet browsers which tracked their personal information and internet activity.
Learn More6/30/2017France fines Amazon $42M for dropping tracking cookies without consent
Amazon’s French site displayed a banner informing arriving visitors that they agreed to its use of cookies. CNIL said this did not comply with transparency or consent requirements — since it was not clear to users that the tech giant was using cookies for ad tracking. Nor were users given the opportunity to consent.
Learn More5/19/2019France Fines Google $120M For Dropping Cookies Without Consent
The French Data Protection Authority (Commission Nationale de l’Informatique et des Libertés) (CNIL) carried out investigations of the websites over the past year and found tracking cookies were automatically dropped when a user visited the domains in breach of the country’s Data Protection Act.
Learn More3/16/2020German Federal Supreme Court Issued Cookie Decision in Planet 49 Case
The decision confirms much-anticipated and relevant principles regarding the use of consent for the processing of personal data and the use of cookies. Notably, it confirms that pre-ticked boxes do not constitute a legally valid consent, in line with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Learn More5/28/2020[EUR]NOYB files 422 formal GDPR complaints on nerve-wrecking “Cookie Banners”
As part of a one-year project on "deceptive designs" and "dark patterns", noyb aims to scan, warn and enforce the GDPR on up to 10.000 websites in Europe. After sending a written warning and a “draft complaint” to more than 500 companies on May 31st, 42% of all violations were remedied within 30 days. However, 82% of all companies have not fully stopped violating the GDPR. Accordingly, noyb filed 422 complaints with ten data protection authorities.
Learn More8/10/2020Meta agrees to pay $90 million to settle lawsuit over Facebook tracking users' online activity
Facebook (FB)-parent Meta has agreed to pay $90 million to settle a decade-old class action lawsuit over a practice that allowed the social network to track users' activity across the internet, even if they had logged out of the platform.
Learn More2/15/2022