Meta Platforms, the owner of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, has been hit with a $600 million lawsuit from Spanish media firms. The case targets Meta’s data processing practices, accusing the company of gaining an unfair competitive advantage in the advertising market.
Spain’s AMI media association, which comprises 83 media outlets, filed the lawsuit with a commercial court on Friday, December 1, 2023. Meta violated the European Union (EU)’s data protection regulations between 2018 and 2023, according to claims made by the newspaper entities.
The complaint states that Meta’s data collection across Facebook and Instagram creates an unjust competitive atmosphere in the advertising industry. The tech conglomerate’s “massive” and “systematic” use of personal user data for targeted or behavourial advertising makes it a dominant force threatening legacy media.
A majority of the ads published by Meta rely on personal data that the company acquires without obtaining informed consent. These practices constitute violations of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), according to the lawsuit. The GDPR is the primary legislative framework governing tech companies in the EU.
Big Tech companies, especially Meta and search engine mammoth Google, have been taken to court by traditional media collectives in several countries around the world. Media outlets have ranged against social media giants over the revenue that is generated through original news content online. Facebook and Google, in particular, are facing allegations that they benefit heavily from news content, which the companies have vehemently denied.
Recently, Canada joined the list of countries that have either implemented or are working on revenue-sharing legislation for tech companies and media outlets. The contentious Online News Act, which enables media outlets to negotiate for a larger share of digital revenue for their content, has led to Meta blocking news content altogether in the country. Google, too, termed the legislation “unworkable” and a “wrong approach to support journalism”.
Both companies have repeatedly claimed that news content makes up only a “fraction” of their revenue, arguing that it brings visibility and exposure to news outlets instead. The US also came up with the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act (JPCA) in 2022, which prompted similar threats from Meta of taking down news content. Malaysia is also working on drafting rules that would oblige tech companies to pay news firms for their content.
Australia was the first country to introduce such legislation. The law, which came into effect in 2021, led to a complete removal of news material from Facebook by Meta. However, following a series of negotiations and key amendments to the rules, Meta reinstated news content on its social media platforms in the country.
