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The claimants had said Google <GOOGL.O> had illegally accessed
details of iPhone users' internet browsing data by bypassing
privacy settings on the Safari browser between June 2011 and
February 2012.
Richard Lloyd, a consumer activist who was behind the "Google
You Owe Us" court challenge, had estimated that about 4.5
million people had been affected by the "Safari Workaround" and
wanted the tech giant to pay out several hundred dollars in
damages to each affected individual.
Google had argued the mass case brought by Lloyd, the only named
claimant, was not appropriate and should not proceed.
"There is no dispute that it is arguable that Google's alleged
role in the collection, collation, and use of data obtained via
the Safari Workaround was wrongful, and a breach of duty," the
judge, Mark Warby, said in his ruling.
However, he said the case brought by Lloyd did not support the
contention that he and those he represented had suffered
"damage" as specified by Britain's Data Protection Act nor could
the court allow such representative action to go ahead.
In his ruling, he said the main beneficiaries of the claim would
have been those who funded it and the lawyers.
POSSIBLE APPEAL
Lloyd said his group, to which 20,000 people had signed up to,
would seek permission to appeal the decision.
"Today's judgment is extremely disappointing and effectively
leaves millions of people without any practical way to seek
redress and compensation when their personal data has been
misused," he said in a statement.
"Google's business model is based on using personal data to
target adverts to consumers and they must ask permission before
using this data. The court accepted that people did not give
permission in this case yet slammed the door shut on holding
Google to account."
A Google spokeswoman said: "The privacy and security of our
users is extremely important to us. This claim is without merit,
and we're pleased the Court has dismissed it."
Google remains under pressure from lawmakers and regulators over
its privacy practices in the United States, where it has
acknowledged making mistakes in the past.
In 2012, it agreed to pay a then-record civil penalty of $22.5
million to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it
misrepresented to Apple Safari Internet browser users that it
would not place tracking "cookies" or serve them targeted ads.
(Reporting by Michael Holden and Douglas Busvine in Frankfurt;
Editing by Guy Faulconbridge/Keith Weir)
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