Netherlands: Amnesty International supports strategic lawsuit against alleged illegal tracking software in games and apps

Amnesty International supports a class action lawsuit filed today by The Privacy Collective on behalf of Dutch internet users against the American tech company AppLovin

The case focuses on the alleged unlawful collection and trading of personal data of millions of Dutch people via tracking software in popular mobile games and apps. 

This is what’s happening 

Through software built into countless popular games and apps, AppLovin is collecting personal data from millions of Dutch users, including one and a half million children. 

“Because children are now tracked at an increasingly young age, it makes them uniquely vulnerable to economic exploitation. This lawsuit has a clear goal, namely to protect and strengthen fundamental rights such as privacy, autonomy and human dignity. The digital advertising and tracking industry is violating these rights structurally and on a large scale. It is unacceptable that this business model operates at the expense of citizens, and particularly at the expense of minors,”   

Dagmar Oudshoorn, Director of Amnesty International Netherlands.

 The data collected is allegedly shared with hundreds of other companies and is being used to create detailed user profiles, which the company uses to sell advertising space. In 2025, AppLovin generated revenue of 5.5 billion US dollars. 

According to The Privacy Collective, users are not being told about this. The Privacy Collective also argues that the tracking software is deliberately designed to collect maximum data, even when users or parents have indicated that they do not want to be tracked. The games and apps in which the tracking software has been found include Block Blast, Subway Surfers, Helix Jump, Vinted and CapCut Video Editor. A list of the most downloaded games and apps containing the tracking software can be found on The Privacy Collective’s website. 

Why Amnesty International supports this case 

As an organization that stands up for human rights in the digital age, we believe that these practices are rightly being brought before court by The Privacy Collective. 

We therefore call upon everyone to support the case and to come forward if they too have been harmed by the practices of AppLovin. 

Join us  

The Privacy Collective is offering everyone the opportunity to contribute to this case in two ways.  Anyone who supports the cause can express their support with a single click via The Privacy Collective website. In addition, people who have downloaded games or apps containing tracking software can register themselves and their children as affected parties and thereby claim the compensation that the lawsuit aims to secure. Learn more and sign up at www.theprivacycollective.nl