Google battle taken to Supreme Court

Aug 03, 2015

Written By Sofia Gymer, Editor, AllAboutLaw.co.uk

Earlier this year, in March ’15, Olswang was declared ‘victorious’ over Bristows as the Court of Appeal (CoA) ruled that people in the UK would be allowed to sue Google in the UK courts, rather than in the California ones where Google is based. However, the landmark case Vidal-Hall et al v. Google is now being taken to the Supreme Court.

Olswang was leading a major online privacy case, brought against Google by three British citizens who claimed that Google breached the duty of confidence by selling secretly collected data on to advertisers. The case was taken to the High Court in 2013, when Google argued that the case should be tried in the US.

Justice Tugendhat of the High Court ruled that British citizens should be able to challenge Google in British courts.

The CoA upheld the High Court’s decision, on the merit that the claimants could prove they had suffered financial losses due to Google selling on data regarding them.

Regarding the CoA decision, claimant Judith Vidal-Hall said: “This is a David and Goliath victory. The Court of Appeal has ensured Google cannot use its vast resources to evade English justice. Ordinary computer users like me will now have the right to hold this giant to account before the courts for its unacceptable, immoral and unjust actions.”

But, once again, Vidal-Hall and the other claimants will be forced to wait longer for the full trial pending the Supreme Court’s decision.

If the Supreme Court upholds the ruling British people will be able to bring legal pursuits against Google in British courts, opening the way for millions of other claimants who used the search engine during the period in question to take legal action.

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