Linkedin – Court Ruling (Netherlands, 2024)

The data subject visited several popular websites and refused all cookies. However, tracking cookies were still placed on the data subject’s device. The controllers are Linkedin Ireland, Linkedin Netherlands, Microsoft Corporation (US), Microsoft Ireland Operations, Microsoft (NL) and Xandr (US). LinkedIn offers an advertising service and allows for companies to place tracking cookies on the browsers of a user after they view or click their ads. Microsoft has an advertising service that sells ad space on various websites. The service also allows advertisers to show their ads on the ad space of 'third-party' website operators and can place tracking cookies on the devices of website visitors. Xandr is an online platform that buys and sells digital ads. To use the services of Xandr, website users need to install a Java-script that places tracking cookies on the devices of website visitors. All of them are part of the Microsoft Group. The data subject hired a third party specialist to make an independent analysis of the controllers’ collection of personal data via the placed cookies. The analysis confirmed that out of the 30 websites the data subject visited, 27 websites placed and/or read cookies without the data subject’s consent. 24 websites did this even after explicit refusal to consent. Thus, the controllers were collecting personal data of the data subject’s browsing habits without their consent. The data subject filed an urgency procedure (“kort geding”) at the Amsterdam District Court (“Rechtbank Amsterdam”), asking the court to forbid the controllers to place tracking cookies without the data subject’s consent. Jurisdiction of the court [https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=celex%3A32012R1215 Brussels I bis Regulation] regulates which courts of the EU Member States have jurisdiction in cases with links to more than one Member State in the EU. [https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=celex%3A32012R1215 Article 7(2) Brussels I bi