Madrid, December 5, 2023: A consortium of Spanish news publishers, operating under the banner of Asociacion de Medios de Informacion, has filed a lawsuit against tech giant Meta, accusing the company of violating data protection rules set by the European Union in 2018.
The legal action, initiated on Monday, represents more than 80 Spanish media outlets, including prominent platforms such as El País, El Mundo, ABC, and La Vanguardia. The group alleges that Meta, through its platforms like Facebook and Instagram, gained an unfair competitive advantage in the digital advertising space by using users’ information without proper consent.
The EU General Data Protection Regulation, enforced since 2018, requires websites to obtain user consent before utilizing or storing their personal data. As per a statement shared with Reuters, Asociacion de Medios de Informacion (AMI) claims that Meta’s advertising platforms engage in the placement of ads driven by clients’ personal data acquired without explicit consent.
AMI contends that Meta’s “massive” and “systematic” utilization of personal data provides the company with an unjust edge in creating and presenting personalized advertisements to users. Nicolas Gonzalez Cuellar, the group’s attorney, indicated to Reuters that similar legal actions against Meta may follow in other EU countries.
While Meta has not officially responded to the lawsuit, a company source mentioned that Meta had not yet received the filings.
This development comes amidst Meta’s ongoing legal battles, including a recent case involving 42 U.S. states accusing the company of data protection issues and alleged harm to the mental health of young people. Filed in October, the states claim that Meta and its social media platforms violated the U.S. Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act by collecting data on children under 13 without parental consent.
