Before the GDPR took effect there was plenty of talk about
whether it would usher in a new era of US-style litigation in
Europe. It's ironic, then, that the more interesting
development has been the rise of low-level claims alleging
non-financial harm as a result of GDPR breaches. Distress,
anxiety, being upset — that sort of thing.
And what we've seen in the emergence of a kind of super
complainant. Those individuals for whom getting through an
ordinary digital life causes such deep distress, overwhelming
anger, and so on that compensation is the only thing that will make
it better.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the amount sought by these claimants
— £500 here €1,500 there — tends to be
pitched in that corridor of uncertainty that can leave businesses
with mixed feelings about how to respond. On the one hand,
the cost of instructing lawyers may exceed the amount claimed.
On the other, they don't want to set a precedent of
payment for what, in many cases,
