Intellectual Property, Information Technology & Cybersecurity

Author: Tilbe Birengel

Introduction

The procedural rules on mass claims within European Union (“EU”) Member States is not uniform. To improve the position of consumers who might wish to make such claims, the European Parliament passed the Collective Redress Directive (“Directive”). The impact of the Directive is expected to make collective redress in data protection and other fields much easier.

Timeline

The Directive was passed by the European Parliament on 24 November 2020 and entered into force by the end of 2020. It will be implemented by the EU Member States by 25 December 2022. The measures shall be applicable in each Member State as of 25 June 2023.

The Scope of the Directive

The Directive creates stronger protection for consumer groups than those that existed previously. In case of breach of EU law on subjects including data protection, financial services, energy, telecommunications, health and the environment, the Directive is expected to pave the way for mass claims against businesses. In order to minimize abusive mass claims, the Directive limits standing for bringing collective actions on behalf of consumers to “designated institutions.”

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