Data Privacy Stichting (DPS) and Stichting Onderzoek Marktinformatie (SOMI) are suing Meta over its use of Dutch Facebook and Instagram users’ data. Meta appealed a 2023 District Court of Amsterdam judgment that Meta Ireland had violated Dutch Facebook users’ privacy and consumer rights. Damages actions claiming €750 per Facebook user and more are stayed until the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) rules on GDPR collective claims.
Latest development Oct 15, 2025
On October 15, 2025, the District Court of Amsterdam held that it has jurisdiction over the damages actions of Data Privacy Stichting and Stichting Onderzoek Marktinformatie against Meta. It stayed both until the EU Court of Justice rules in Case C-523/25. The appeal against the 2023 judgment is pending before the Court of Appeal of Amsterdam.
Why it matters
The appeal will decide whether the 2023 findings against Meta Ireland stand. The damages actions could reach millions of Dutch Facebook and Instagram users if the EU Court of Justice allows opt-out collective damages claims under the General Data Protection Regulation.
Background
Data Privacy Stichting (DPS), a foundation backed by the Dutch consumers’ association Consumentenbond, sued three Meta companies in the District Court of Amsterdam on December 30, 2019. It alleged that Facebook processed users’ personal data, including sensitive data, for advertising without consent. It also alleged that Facebook let app developers collect data on users’ friends without informing them, as in the Cambridge Analytica affair. The court rejected Meta’s objections to its jurisdiction and to DPS’s standing on June 30, 2021.
On March 15, 2023, the court declared that Meta Ireland had acted unlawfully toward Dutch Facebook users by violating their privacy rights and through an unfair commercial practice. It dismissed the other claims. Meta appealed, and the appeal also covers the 2021 judgment. The Court of Appeal of Amsterdam refused Meta’s request to stay the appeal in September 2025 and listed a two-day hearing for October 13 and 14, 2025.
On March 1, 2024, DPS brought a second action under the Dutch Act on Collective Damages Claims (WAMCA). It seeks damages for the conduct at issue in the first action, from April 2010 onward. It also covers transfers of Facebook and Instagram data to the United States from May 2018 to July 2023. It claims €750 per Facebook user, €500 per Facebook or Instagram user for the transfers, and an amount based on the value of the data. The Consumentenbond estimated that the claim could exceed €12B. Stichting Onderzoek Marktinformatie (SOMI) had filed a similar action on November 3, 2023, which puts its claim at about €12.78B. Meta contests the Dutch courts’ jurisdiction and the foundations’ standing.
On October 15, 2025, the district court held that it has jurisdiction over both damages actions. It stayed them until the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) answers questions from the District Court of Rotterdam in Case C-523/25. The questions ask whether the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) permits opt-out collective damages claims. The Consumentenbond reported that the appeal was listed for October 6, 2026, for the Court of Appeal to set the date of its judgment.
Timeline 8 events
-
OrderDistrict Court of Amsterdam stays the damages actions pending EU ruling
The court held that it has jurisdiction over both foundations’ actions but awaited the EU Court of Justice’s answers in Case C-523/25 before ruling on their standing.
Rechtspraak: Massaclaimzaak tegen Meta aangehoudenDistrict Court of Amsterdam, ECLI:NL:RBAMS:2025:7489
-
HearingCourt of Appeal of Amsterdam hears the appeal
The foundation said the two-day hearing would cover jurisdiction, its standing, and its claims.
-
OrderCourt of Appeal of Amsterdam refuses Meta’s request to stay the appeal
Meta had asked on September 9, 2025, for the appeal against the 2023 judgment to be suspended.
-
FilingData Privacy Stichting files a second action seeking damages
The new collective action claimed €750 per Facebook user and €500 per Facebook or Instagram user for transfers of data to the United States.
-
FilingStichting Onderzoek Marktinformatie files a damages action against Meta
The foundation acted for Dutch Facebook users after May 25, 2018, and put the total claim at about €12.78B, including a data breach claim.
Rechtspraak register: SOMI summons extractDistrict Court of Amsterdam, ECLI:NL:RBAMS:2025:7489
-
JudgmentDistrict Court of Amsterdam finds Meta Ireland breached users’ privacy rights
The court declared that Meta Ireland acted unlawfully toward Dutch Facebook users through privacy violations and an unfair commercial practice. Meta appealed.
-
JudgmentDistrict Court of Amsterdam rejects Meta’s procedural objections
The court held that it had jurisdiction and that the foundation could bring the collective action.
-
FilingData Privacy Stichting sues Meta over Facebook users’ data
The foundation sought declarations that Facebook’s processing and sharing of Dutch users’ data from 2010 to 2020 was unlawful.