Optus is facing one of the largest class action claims in Australian history, with legal firm Slater and Gordon arguing a data breach that exposed the data of almost 10 million customers breached privacy laws, made users vulnerable to fraud attempts, and caused significant emotional distress.
A leading technology and regulation lawyer says Optus is likely to feel more financial pain from being forced to compensate data breach victims than from fines available under the Privacy Act.
A settlement could well be worth billions, eclipsing the current record of $494 million paid to 10,000 victims of Victoria’s 2009 Black Saturday bushfires.
