Case Overview:

• Issue: Plaintiffs (Douglas Donegani, Matthew Howat, Lyne Brassard) allege misuse of personal data by Facebook, which was shared with third-party apps without consent.
• Claims: Breach of contract, breach of confidence, intrusion upon seclusion, and violations of provincial privacy laws.

Key Findings:

• Certification Motion:

  • Plaintiffs sought to certify the case as a class action under Ontario's Class Proceedings Act (CPA).
  • Facebook contested certification, arguing insufficient evidence and individual issues that make class action impractical.

• Admissibility of Evidence:

  • Many evidentiary materials (e.g., news articles) were deemed hearsay but admitted to demonstrate potential available evidence, not for their truth.
  • Some expert evidence (e.g., from Ashkan Soltani) was excluded due to reliability and qualification issues.

• Claims Analysis:

  • Breach of Contract: Certified as it pertains to common terms and practices affecting all class members.
  • Breach of Confidence: Struck down due to lack of pleadings of specific detriment suffered by plaintiffs.
  • Intrusion Upon Seclusion: Not certified as determining data misuse and privacy violations required individual assessments.
  • Provincial Privacy Statutes: Claims under British Columbia, Manitoba, and Newfoundland laws were struck due to jurisdictional limits. Claims under Saskatchewan’s privacy statute allowed to proceed.

• Class Definition Issues:

  • The proposed class definition (all Canadian Facebook users except Quebec residents whose friends used specific third-party apps) was deemed overly broad and unworkable.
  • Plaintiffs were directed to revise the definition and address technical issues.

Outcome:

• Neither party emerged as fully successful. Partial certification was granted for certain claims and common issues, but key issues such as privacy violations and damages were denied certification due to the need for individual inquiries.