ICCL class-action suit against Microsoft
The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) is applying to the High Court today (26 May) to launch a class-action lawsuit against Microsoft.
The body says that the case, which it says is the first of its kind in Ireland, is intended to target Microsoft’s ‘Real-Time Bidding’ (RTB) advertising system.
RTB tracks and shares what people view online to provide personalised advertising through an auction system. The ICCL argues that it amounts to a data breach.
The council says that it is taking the legal action on behalf of all affected people in Ireland under the new EU directive on collective redress and is aiming to force Microsoft to bring its systems into compliance with the GDPR.
‘Intimate secrets’
The organisation says that Microsoft’s RTB system operates behind the scenes on websites and apps – including Windows, Xbox, and Office – to match advertising to specific people.
Dr Johnny Ryan (director of ICCL’s Enforce unit) said that people’s “intimate secrets”, such as their relationship, work and financial status, were broadcast by Microsoft into the RTB advertising system.
“That system is a black hole of data open to any malicious actor and represents a huge data breach of millions of people’s information,” he added.
RTÉ quoted a Microsoft spokesperson as saying that the company intended to respond to the ICCL filing through the appropriate legal channels.