https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-56772772 BBC Homepage * Skip to content * Accessibility Help * BBC Account * Home * News * Sport * Reel * Worklife * Travel * Future * Culture * MenuMore Search * Home * News * Sport * Reel * Worklife * Travel * Future * Culture * Music * TV * Weather * Sounds Close menu BBC News Menu * Home * Prince Philip * Coronavirus * Video * World * US & Canada * UK * Business * Tech * Science * Stories More * Entertainment & Arts * Health * In Pictures * Reality Check * World News TV * Newsbeat * Long Reads * Tech Facebook faces mass legal action over data leak Published 9 hours ago Share close Share page Copy link About sharing Facebook's logoimage copyrightGetty Images image captionFacebook users are being urged to take part in legal action against the company Facebook users whose data was compromised by a massive data leak are being urged to take legal action against the tech giant. About 530 million people had some personal information leaked, including, in some cases, phone numbers. A digital privacy group is preparing to take a case to the Irish courts on behalf of EU citizens affected. Facebook denies wrongdoing, saying the data was "scraped" from publicly available information on the site. * Sinn Fein 'questioned over Facebook data use' * Facebook urged to end Instagram for children idea Antoin O Lachtnain, director of Digital Rights Ireland (DRI), warned other tech giants its move could be the beginning of a domino effect. "This will be the first mass action of its kind but we're sure it won't be the last," he said. "The scale of this breach, and the depth of personal information compromised, is gob-smacking." He added: "The laws are there to protect consumers and their personal data and it's time these technology giants wake up to the reality that protection of personal data must be taken seriously." * Was your number leaked in Facebook data breach? * Facebook faces investigation over data breach DRI claims Facebook failed to protect user data and notify those who had been affected. The data leak was first discovered and fixed in 2019, but was recently made easily available online for free. DRI said individual users who take part in the legal action could be offered compensation of up to EUR12,000 (PS10,445) if it is successful - based on what it says are similar cases in other countries. 'Domino effect' "If successful this could well set a precedent and open the door to further class action down the line," Ray Walsh, a digital privacy expert at ProPrivacy, told the BBC. "Big Tech might then find that being made to compensate individual users is a strong reminder to work harder on privacy compliance," he added. On Thursday, the Irish Data Protection Commission announced its decision to launch an investigation into the leak. It will assess whether any parts of the GDPR or Data Protection Act 2018 were infringed by Facebook. If found to be in breach, the social media giant could face fines of up to 4% of its turnover. Responding to DRI's legal case, a Facebook spokesman said: "We understand people's concerns, which is why we continue to strengthen our systems to make scraping from Facebook without our permission more difficult and go after the people behind it." He also pointed to other firms involved in similar recent leaks. "As LinkedIn and Clubhouse have shown, no company can completely eliminate scraping or prevent data sets like these from appearing. That's why we devote substantial resources to combat it and will continue to build out our capabilities to help stay ahead of this challenge," he said. Related Topics * Data protection * Facebook * Internet privacy * Data breaches * GDPR * Social media More on this story * Facebook faces investigation over data breach Published 2 days ago * Users can appeal Facebook's editorial decisions Published 3 days ago * Was your number leaked in Facebook data breach? Published 6 April Top Stories * Raul Castro steps down as Cuban communist leader His resignation ends his family's six-decade hold on power in Cuba. Published 1 hour ago * Indianapolis FedEx gunman was former employee Published 19 minutes ago * Biden keeps record low Trump cap on refugees Published 2 hours ago Features * How sex surrogates are helping injured Israeli soldiers Man on wheelchair in bedroom * The 'missing' Chinese survivors of the Titanic Ah Lam, Fang Lang and Ling Hee * Hong Kong billionaire's last interview as a free man. VideoHong Kong billionaire's last interview as a free man Jimmy Lai with a tear in his eye * * Chile sees Covid surge despite vaccination success Funeral home workers move a casket outside a morgue at a hospital area, during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in Santiago, Chile April 8, 2021 * 'I would have not believed in this pandemic' Video'I would have not believed in this pandemic' Catherine * A racial reckoning in small town America Railroad crossing sign in Decorah * India's Covid-19 patients turn to black market A patient suffering from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) gets treatment at the casualty ward in Lok Nayak Jai Prakash (LNJP) hospital, amidst the spread of the disease in New Delhi, India April 15, 2021. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui * Australia's 'system is continuing to kill us' Paul Silva * BBC Culture: Is the Oscars no longer 'so white'? Daniel Kaluuya Elsewhere on the BBC * Football phrases 15 sayings from around the world football being kicked on a field - Vauxhall image blurred in the background. Most Read * Canada sounds the alarm as Covid cases overtake US1 * Student's heart failure linked to energy drinks2 * Raul Castro steps down as Cuban communist leader3 * Peaky Blinders actress Helen McCrory dies aged 524 * Indianapolis FedEx gunman was former employee5 * Funeral 'profound chance for Queen to say goodbye'6 * Chicago releases video of police shooting boy, 137 * How sex surrogates are helping injured Israeli soldiers8 * Queen shares cherished Prince Philip photo9 * Four men held over abduction of French girl aged 810 BBC News Services * On your mobile * On smart speakers * Get news alerts * Contact BBC News * Home * News * Sport * Reel * Worklife * Travel * Future * Culture * Music * TV * Weather * Sounds * Terms of Use * About the BBC * Privacy Policy * Cookies * Accessibility Help * Parental Guidance * Contact the BBC * Get Personalised Newsletters * Why you can trust the BBC * Advertise with us * AdChoices / Do Not Sell My Info (c) 2021 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.