What does the Google claim in the Supreme Court mean for the public and web sites and search engines?

On 28 April 2021 the Supreme Court is due to hear the appeal of Google against the order of the Court of Appeal allowing Richard Lloyd to proceed with a case against Google for the farming and misuse of data on behalf of millions of consumers. The case is a landmark for a number of reasons:

• Can one individual represent millions of unnamed consumers in pursuit of a claim. This is a first in English procedure outside cartel cases and reflects US style class actions. Will the court’s support it?
• A whole string of cases for data breaches has followed the appeal decision and they will be affected by the decision in the Supreme Court.
• Do all consumers whose data has been used suffer the same damage
• What damages are payable for the misuse of data in breach of the Data Protection Act and the EU Data Directive
• If the Court of Appeal judgment does not stand how do consumers pursue compensation available under the statute.

David Greene, Senior Partner of Edwin Coe LLP said “This is a super important case in establishing the respective rights of the consumer to control information about them and the rights of platforms and web sites to garner information through cookies and then sell or use it. If the Supreme Court goes the way of the Court of Appeal it will open up a whole range of possibilities for consumers not just in the field of data farming but in other wider consumer claims.”