In November, the French government enacted a bill that establishes a general class action regime and includes specific provisions regarding data protection violations that go beyond those already in place for consumers. The provisions add a right to class actions for data protection violations regardless of industry sector. The class actions now can be initiated before civil or administrative courts in France when several individuals in a similar position incur damages resulting from a data controller’s or data processor’s infringement of its obligations under the French Data Protection Act of 1978. Although no financial compensation will be awarded, litigants can obtain injunctive relief. The new bill reinforces the importance of data protection as the compliance deadline for the General Data Protection Regulation approaches.
