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You deserve a life free from Google’s illegal surveillance and commercial exploitation of your data, and compensation for Google’s unprecedented privacy violations.
Stand up for your rights
Stand up for your rights and join the Action. The more participants, the stronger we stand against Google.
The Foundation finds Google’s disregard for its users’ privacy rights unacceptable and is therefore taking legal action against Google. The objective of the Action is to press Google to fundamentally change its practices so that it no longer violates users’ rights. In addition, the Foundation aims to secure financial compensation for Dutch consumers aggrieved by Google’s violations of their rights.
Read more about what Our Action Against Google means and the FAQs about the Action, the Foundation and how to sign up. Below, we explain what it means if you sign up as an Aaggrieved Party.
It does not cost Aggrieved Parties anything to participate in the Action against Google, as Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP, the Funder, has agreed to fund the proceedings on a no cure, no pay basis. This means that only when the Action results in a recovery for Aggrieved Parties, is the Funder entitled to a specific percentage thereof, ranging between 18% – 25%.
How does “no cure, no pay” work?
There are several possible outcomes in our Action against Google. Below, we will explain in more detail how ‘no cure, no pay’ works for the various possible outcomes.
What is the percentage that the Funder will receive in the event of cash recovery only?
In the event of a cash recovery only, the Funder is entitled to 18% of the gross compensation of such cash recovery. This means that the Aggrieved Parties will receive 82% of the compensation to which they are entitled to as a result of the Foundation’s efforts.
By way of fictional example: should Google be ordered to pay EUR 100 in cash recovery to an Aggrieved Party, the Aggrieved Partiesy wouldill receive EUR 82 and the Funder wouldill receive EUR 18.
What is the percentage that the Funder will receive in the event of both cash recovery and non-cash recovery (i.e., in-kind compensation)?
In the event of both a cash recovery and a non-cash recovery, where it is not possible to readily determine the cash-equivalent of the non-cash recovery (for example consumer protection measures such as the instruction to Google to revise its privacy policy and terms of services, or an imposed ban for Google to use third party cookies), the Funder is entitled to receive be-tween 18% – 25% of the cash recovery to an Aggrieved Partiesy. The specific percentage that the Funder is entitled to will be agreed upon between the Foundation and the Funder on the basis of reasonableness in relation to the specific circumstances of the recovery.
In the event of both a cash recovery and a non-cash recovery, where it is possible to readily determine the cash-equivalent of the non-cash recovery (such as a product or service for which consumers would normally pay), the Funder will be entitled to receive 18% of the gross compensation of the cash recovery plus 18% of the cash-equivalent value of the non-cash recovery to an Aggrieved Party.
What will the Funder receive in the event of non-cash recovery only (i.e., in-kind compensation)?
In the event of non-cash recovery only, where it is not possible to readily determine the cash-equivalent value of the non-cash recovery, the compensation to the Funder will not exceed three times the total cost of its services and its funding. In this case, however, Aggrieved Parties will not have to pay anything to the Funder.
What happens in the event there is no recovery at all?
If there is no recovery at all for the Aggrieved Parties’ claims, neither the Aggrieved Parties nor the Foundation will receive any compensation in cash or non-cash, but they shall not have to pay any legal fee or reimbursement, or have any obligation to the Funder or any agent in connection with the pursuit of those claims.
The Foundation understands that it is important to stay in touch with the Aggrieved Parties. On 26 June 2024, the Foundation organised an event for participants where attendees had the opportunity to meet the Board and an explanation was given about the lawsuit. Click here for a report of the event. In addition, the Foundation established a panel of participants. The members of this participant panel will be asked to provide input on certain decisions of the Foundation or to share their views on certain topics with which the Foundation is concerned. The Articles of Association provide for this possibility.
Aggrieved Parties can monitor relevant developments via the Foundation’s website. Participants in the Action will additionally be kept informed of relevant case developments through news releases via email.
Yes, it is possible to withdraw from the Action.
Aggrieved Parties who have entered into an agreement with the Foundation can withdraw within 60 days without owing anything to the Foundation. This changes after 60 days. After that period, the Foundation has already incurred significant costs. Therefore, the agreement provides that, if an Aggrieved Party withdraws at a later stage and the Action ultimately results in a recovery for that Aggrieved Party, part of the ‘no cure, no pay’ fee is owed to the Foundation. The Foundation will not keep the owed amount for itself, it will pay the owed amount forward the money to the litigation Funder.
The payable amount depends on the status of the Action at the time of the withdrawal:
Withdrawal before the Foundation has been declared admissible*
If an Aggrieved Party terminates the agreement after 60 days but before the Foundation has been declared admissible*, the Foundation will be entitled to 33% of the ‘no cure, no pay’ fee to which it would have been entitled had the agreement not been terminated.
Since the ‘no cure no pay’ fee is a maximum of 25% of the result obtained for an Aggrieved Party, the Foundation may be entitled to a maximum of 33% of 25%, or 8.33% of the result obtained.
Withdrawal after the Foundation has been declared admissible*
If an Aggrieved Party terminates the agreement after the Foundation has been declared admissible*, the Foundation will be entitled to 67% of the amount of the ‘no cure, no pay’ fee to which it would have been entitled had the agreement not been terminated.
Since the ‘no cure no pay’ fee is a maximum of 25% of the result obtained for an Aggrieved Party, the Foundation may be entitled to a maximum of 67% of 25%, or 16.67% of the result obtained.
Termination of the agreement needs to take place by sending an e-mail to vragen@claimservice.nl. Please include ‘Termination agreement Google’ in the subject of the e-mail. You do not have to give a reason for termination. It is not possible to terminate the agreement after a settlement has been reached or a recovery has been awarded. In that case, the Foundation has already fulfilled its obligations under the agreement.
* Admissible means that the court has determined that the Foundation meets the formal requirements to bring a collective action. These requirements can be found in Article 3:305a of the Dutch Civil Code.