The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) yesterday applied to the court for what it said would be Ireland’s first-ever class action lawsuit, brought under the new EU Collective Redress Directive.

The directive was transposed into Irish law through the Representative Actions for the Protection of the Collective Interests of Consumers Act 2023, which came into force at the end of April 2024.

It allows designated qualified entities, which must be not-for-profit organisations, to take enforcement action in the Irish courts on behalf of a group of consumers whose rights have been breached either in Ireland or in another EU country.

The ICCL is one of only two organisations currently included in the register of qualified entities, the other being privacy rights campaign group noyb.

In the High Court yesterday afternoon, Mr Justice Barry O’Donnell deemed the case admissible as a representative action under the 2023 Act and said ICCL could now serve plenary summons on Microsoft.

ICCL was represented by James Doherty SC, Sean O’Sullivan BL and Ahern Rudden Quigley.

Dr Johnny Ryan, director of ICCL’s Enforce unit, said: “The significance of today’s decision extends beyond just Microsoft. Ireland is also the HQ venue for Google, Meta, TikTok, X and Apple.

“Today, nine years and one day after the GDPR was first introduced, we are finally opening up a way to enforce it against big tech on behalf of everyone.

“Regrettably, Ireland’s Data Protection Commission has paralysed enforcement of EU data law. But that need no longer be the case.”

Joe O’Brien, executive director of ICCL, added: “ICCL has always been at the cutting edge of advancing human and civil rights in Ireland.

“Today’s landmark decision furthers our work on privacy rights but it also gives a sign of hope that it is possible to push back against big tech and the damage that it is doing to human rights and democracy, not just nationally but internationally.”

A spokesperson for Microsoft told Irish Legal News: “We intend to respond to the ICCL filing through the appropriate legal channels.”