In a closely watched case by companies that operate in the UK—and one that had the potential to dramatically expand the UK’s representative action regime—the UK Supreme Court instead dismissed a representative privacy action against Google brought on behalf of 4 million iPhone users. The Court held that the claimant could not show that he had suffered material damage as required by the UK Data Protection Act because his alleged “loss of control” of his data was not sufficient to constitute damage in and of itself. The Supreme Court’s decision presents challenges for individuals seeking to bring future representative claims pursuant to the Data Protection Act, and it is likely that claimants will attempt to bring data privacy actions either on alternative grounds (e.g., based on the tort of misuse of private information or pursuant to the UK’s General Data Protection Regulation and Data Protection Act 2018) or using alternative methods (e.g., bifurcated actions or group litigation orders). Read more about the implications of this decision here.