Overview
- More than 14,000 people had joined the collective action by October 1, with registration still open at least until October 31 via the Bundesamt für Justiz after using the vzbv Klage-Check that taps Have I Been Pwned.
- The Hanseatic Higher Regional Court in Hamburg began proceedings on October 10, initially addressing formal issues such as jurisdiction in the Musterfeststellungsklage against Meta.
- Compensation levels remain to be decided, with past guidance near €100 under BGH precedent and the vzbv arguing for up to €600 where additional personal details were exposed.
- Eligibility covers users who had a Facebook account with a stored phone number between January 2018 and September 2019, and roughly 6 million German accounts were included in the 2021 leak.
- Registration is free, stops claims from expiring, and the vzbv is represented by Dr. Stoll & Sauer, while authorities warn that leaked data continue to fuel spam, phishing and fraud attempts.