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# Class Action
Facebook Ireland ordered to respond to privacy lawsuit within four weeks
The company’s international office has to submit a counter-statement to Vienna Regional Court otherwise it will make a judgement in its absense
FACEBOOK IRELAND HAS been given four weeks to respond to a claim that it violated a number of data protection laws.
The Vienna Regional Court has reviewed a class action against the company has ordered the company’s international headquarters to submit a counter-statement otherwise it will make a judgement in its absence.
The class action privacy suit, filed by the group Europe vs Facebook, claims that Facebook committed a number of privacy violations such as its involvement with the US National Security Agency (NSA) in running PRISM, and tracking users’ visits to other websites via the ‘Like’ button.
In a statement, Europe vs Facebook said that Facebook Ireland may be able to get an extension of the time limit which would extend it to another four weeks.
The suit, which is headed by Austrian lawyer Max Schrems, saw 25,000 people from more than 100 countries sign up.
Schrems is also involved in another case concerning Facebook pending at the European Court of Justice (ECJ). Back in June, a case involving the Irish Data Commissioner’s decision not to investigate Facebook over its involvement with PRISM, was referred to the ECJ by the Irish High Court.
