This guide will explain how a social media data breach can occur, what a personal data breach is, and how much compensation you could be eligible to receive for the harm caused.
Social media data breach claims guide
The two pieces of legislation that govern data protection laws are the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA). They operate alongside each other and inform the steps that data controllers and processors must follow when handling the personal data of UK residents. Furthermore, the UK GDPR provides an avenue for personal data breach victims to claim compensation for psychological damage or financial losses resulting from the incident.
What can you do when a failure to adhere to data protection laws results in you being harmed by a personal data breach on social media? This guide will explain the steps you should take following a breach and what evidence you can obtain.
Additionally, contact our advisors to enquire about making a claim. They provide free, confidential advice with no obligation to progress your claim with our panel of data breach solicitors.
To speak to our team, you can:
- Call the number on the banner at the top of the page
- Contact us via our online form
- Use the live chat feature on this page
Choose A Section
- What Is A Social Media Data Breach?
- Examples Of A Data Breach
- What Should I Do After A Social Media Data Breach?
- Personal Data Breach – What Potential Compensation Could You Receive?
- No Win No Fee Solicitors – Why Use Them?
- Read More About Claiming For A Social Media Data Breach
What is A Social Media Data Breach?
Firstly, we will define personal data using the UK GDPR. Article 4 describes personal data as any information relating to an identifiable or identified natural person. This includes your:
- Name
- Email address
- Date of birth
- Home address
- Place of work
- Bank details
- Passwords
Also, the UK GDPR categorises some personal data as special category data, which due to its sensitive nature, requires extra protection. This information includes your sexuality, ethnicity, or trade union membership status.
Furthermore, we will use some definitions from the UK’s independent body for upholding information rights, called the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), to answer, ‘what is a personal data breach?’ The ICO describes this as a security incident affecting the confidentiality, availability, or integrity of personal data, which could occur due to deliberate or accidental causes.
Data controllers determine why and how they need your data. Data processors process personal data on the data controller’s behalf. They are both responsible for adhering to the data protection laws laid out by the UK GDPR. To make a personal data breach claim, the breach must be a result of the controller or processor’s failings.
Contact our advisors to learn more about making a social media data breach claim.
Examples Of A Social Media Data Breach
There are various ways a social media data breach could occur. Some of these include:
- You have bought an item from a business, and they have posted about your purchase on social media. In the post, they accidentally share your home address publicly.
- A company does not have adequate cybersecurity policies in place. As a result of this, a virus is able to take personal data from the company’s servers and exposes it over social media.
- A company posts a public picture on social media with a statement in the background containing the bank details of its customers.
Alternatively, if you have been harmed due to a company failing to adhere to data protection laws on social media, which resulted in your personal data being breached, contact a member of our team.
What Should I Do After A Personal Data Breach?
You may be wondering, ‘what should I do if my data is breached?’ If you have been the victim of a social media data breach that risks your rights and freedom, the organisation responsible should contact you without undue delay. Additionally, the ICO must be notified by the organisation within 72 hours of the breach. However, if you have not been contacted but suspect your personal data has been breached, there are still some steps you can take:
The steps you could take include:
- Contact the organisation directly and request more information
- If the response from the organisation is unsatisfactory, contact the ICO. The ICO cannot award compensation. However, they can investigate, and the findings could provide useful evidence.
- Collect evidence that shows you have been the victim of a personal data breach caused by a failure to comply with the UK GDPR. This could potentially include correspondence with the organisation and any findings from the ICO. Evidence of the harm you have suffered may also be useful.
Finally, it is also advisable to seek legal advice to determine whether you could make a social media data breach claim. You will only be eligible to receive compensation for a personal data breach if the organisation has failed to adhere to data protection laws and it has caused you psychological or financial damage. Speak to a member of our team today for free, confidential advice.
Personal Data Breach – What Potential Compensation Could You Receive?
You can claim two potential heads following a social media data breach, material damage and non-material damage.
- Material damage – Compensates you for the monetary losses caused by the personal data breach.
- Non-material damage – Compensates you for psychological damage caused by the personal data breach, such as distress, depression or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Following the Vidal-Hall and Others v Google Inc [2015] Court of Appeal case, you no longer need to claim for material damage to claim for non-material damage. You can now claim for non-material damage either alongside or without claiming for material damage.
In the table below, we have provided guideline compensation brackets for different psychological injuries using the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG), produced in April 2022. Legal professionals often use this document to help them value settlement amounts.
Injury | Details | Compensation Bracket |
---|---|---|
Severe Psychological Injury | The person will have a poor prognosis and has marked problems coping with education, work and daily life. | £54,830 to £115,730 |
Moderately Severe Psychological Injury | The person will have a more optimistic prognosis than above but still has significant problems coping with education, work and daily life. | £19,070 to £54,830 |
Moderate Psychological Injury | The person will have a good prognosis and their problems coping with education, work and daily life will have markedly improved by the time of trial. | £5,860 to £19,070 |
Less Severe Psychological Injury | There will be consideration of the extent that daily activities and sleep were affected and for how long. | £1,540 to £5,860 |
Severe PTSD | All aspects of the person's life will be permanently and significantly affected. | £59,860 to £100,670 |
Moderately Severe PTSD | With professional help, there may be some recovery. This will lead to a better prognosis than above. | £23,150 to £59,860 |
Moderate PTSD | The person will have largely recovered, with no significantly disabling effects that remain. | £8,180 to £23,150 |
Less Severe PTSD | The person will have made a virtually full recovery within one to two years. | £3,950 to £8,180 |
These figures are a guide, not a guarantee of what you will receive, as the details of each social media data breach compensation claim are unique. For a free estimation of what your claim could be worth, contact our advisors today.
What Other Damages Could You Receive After Claiming For A Social Media Data Breach?
You can also claim compensation for financial losses resulting from a personal data breach under material damage. This could, for example, be money taken from your account due to identity theft or damage to your credit score.
It is important to note that you must provide evidence of any financial losses; this could be bank records or statements, for example.
Contact our advisors today for an estimate of what you could receive for a successful claim.
No Win No Fee Solicitors – Why Use Them?
Choosing a No Win No Fee solicitor under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) allows you the benefits of legal representation while minimising the financial risk as you do not have to pay any upfront or ongoing fees for their services.
In successful cases, the solicitor will take a small percentage of the compensation, called a ‘success fee’. The law caps this amount.
However, in the event your claim is unsuccessful, you will not have to pay this fee.
To learn more about opting for a No Win No Fee solicitor, contact our team of advisors. If they find that you might have a valid basis for a claim, they could put you in contact with one of the No Win No Fee solicitors from our panel.
Contact Us For Free To See If You Can Claim
If you would like to know whether you could be eligible to make a social media data breach claim, contact our team of advisors. They can help you discern whether your claim is valid and within the relevant time limits. To learn more:
- Call the number on the banner at the top of the page
- Contact us via our online form
- Use the live chat feature on this page
Read More About Claiming For A Social Media Data Breach
To learn more, take a look at other pages from our site:
- Disciplinary Records Data Breach – Could I Make A Claim?
- University Data Breach – Can I Claim?
- Passport Data Breach – Can I Claim Compensation?
Explore these external sources for further reading:
- ICO – Data Security Incident Trends
- GOV – Data Protection Guide – Make a Complaint
- Mind – Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Thank you for reading our guide to social media data breach claims.
Writer Jess Opal
Editor Cat Harley