Spain is gearing up for war against Meta: over 83 media outlets have decided to join forces to sue the company formerly known as Facebook. The reason? Non-compliance with European legislation regarding data protection.
The Media Information Association (AMI) has been the entity that filed the complaint, accusing Meta of engaging in unfair competition practices within the advertising market. AMI represents major newspapers in this country such as El Mundo, La Vanguardia, or El País, for instance.
Over the years, various European resolutions have already confirmed a widely acknowledged truth: that Meta had been systematically violating data protection laws on the continent. Due to the collection of personal data on platforms like Instagram or Facebook, Meta had a significant strategic advantage in the advertising field. An advantage that, according to AMI, is highly unfair. Current regulations do not permit tracking users without their explicit consent, something Meta was doing nonetheless.
According to AMI, Meta was never transparent with its users in this regard, at least between the years 2018 and 2023. That’s why they’re demanding a compensation of 550 million euros for the damages caused. This amount, assessed by an expert report, equals the money that the 83 media outlets would have missed out on due to Meta’s actions.
The truth is that Meta isn’t a stranger to legal proceedings. The conglomerate led by Mark Zuckerberg already faces several ongoing lawsuits. One of the latest was filed by 33 attorneys general of the United States, accusing them of collecting information from minors registered on their platforms.
