Google Inc. In English Court for UK Data Protection Violation

Vidal-Hall & Ors v. Google Inc. [2014] EWHC 13 (QB)

Google's Safari browser was again the subject of claims of data protection violation. One major new development in this case was that the British claimants took the US mother company Google Inc. and not its UK entity to court in England. The High Court granted permission to sue Google Inc. in the UK arguing that the alleged violation of UK data protection law is tort in the UK and therefore the English High Court the correct forum for the claim. It also held that tracking the internet use of the claimants in anonymous but categorised form according to content like interests and then providing them with according advertisements meant processing personal data without claimants consent. Google Inc. has filed an appeal against the decision.