Amsterdam’s appeal court has cleared the way to mass claims based on an invasion of privacy, in a ruling that should allow cases to be dealt with more quickly.

Groups of users can now claim damages if they feel their privacy has been infringed by companies such as TikTok, which class action experts have described as a “milestone”. The Amsterdam district court had previously ruled that groups could not make a collective damages claim for immaterial damage.

However, the appeal court said on Tuesday that it is in the interests of efficiency to deal with all damage claims in a single case, allowing groups claiming material and immaterial damages to work together.

Femke Hendriks, chairwoman of The Privacy Collective and the ANCB, which represents some 20 claim foundations, described the ruling as “good news”. She has regularly called for a more efficient approach to mass claims since the Netherlands introduced legislation allowing class action cases in 2020.

The ruling means that mass claim cases involving immaterial damages will now be dealt with more quickly, she told the Financieele Dagblad.

In January 2024, three Dutch foundations were given the green light by judges in Amsterdam to take TikTok to court if they fail to reach an out-of-court settlement with the social media giant.

One foundation, Take Back Your Privacy, will represent children in the class action case, while a second, Massaschade & Consument, will represent adults. A third foundation, Somi, is also involved but not as a main party.

The foundations and TikTok will now hold a new hearing to determine the next steps in the case.