Privacy Breaches: Statutory Torts Of The British Columbia’s Privacy Act Override Forum Selection Clauses

Sean Griffin and Anne-Elisabeth Simard of McCarthy Tétrault LLP write:

On May 30, 2014, the Supreme Court of British Columbia rendered a judgment certifying a class action against Facebook Inc. (“Facebook“). In Douez v. Facebook Inc.¹, the plaintiff alleges that Facebook used the names or portraits of Facebook users without their consent in advertisements called Sponsored Stories in breach of section 3(2) of the British Columbia’s Privacy Act²which creates a statutory tort. This case, in a pre-certification stage, also dealt with the question of whether a court should decline its jurisdiction in presence of a forum selection clause or pursuant to the forum non conveniens doctrine.