More than 80 Spanish media today filed a lawsuit against Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, which they accuse of failing to comply with European regulations regarding the protection of private data, the association representing media houses said.
The media, gathered in the association of newspaper publishers AMI, are asking Meta for compensation in the amount of 550 million euros due to "unfair competition". AMI points out that they are suing the American giant for "unfair competitive advantage in the advertising market through systemic abuse of personal data", reports Hina.
Thus, in the period from May 25, 2018 to July 31, 2023, Meta "systematically and massively" violated "European legislation for the protection of personal data" which requires the consent of users to use their data for advertising purposes, claims AMI.
Still no reaction from Meta
By using personal data from Facebook, Instagram and Vocap (WhatsApp), prosecutors claim that this allowed Meta to create highly personalized ads, giving them an unfair advantage over their competitors, "to the detriment of traditional media that respected European regulation."
Among the media companies represented in the lawsuit by the AMI association are Prisa, owner of the daily newspaper El Pais and sports journal AS, Godo, owner of the daily newspaper La Vanguardia and Mundo deportivo, and Vocento, which publishes the conservative newspaper ABC. Meta has refused to comment for now.
This lawsuit represents a significant effort by traditional media to resist the dominance of tech giants in the advertising market. It also highlights the growing tensions between the two sectors. Facebook and Instagram have 144 and 133 million regular users respectively in Europe, excluding the United Kingdom.
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