Maximilan Schrems, an Austrian lawyer and activist, may, as a user of a private Facebook account, initiate legal proceedings in Austria against the American social media network Facebook for infringements to his privacy. However, he cannot initiate collective action on behalf of other consumers, the European Union Court of Justice ruled on Thursday 25 January (Case-498/16).
Schrems, who is renowned for having been at the origin of invalidation of the Safe Harbour provision for the transfer...