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Meta Tells EU Court Investigators Went Too Far in Data Probes

By  |  November 26, 2025

Meta Platforms intensified its fight against European Union antitrust regulators on Wednesday, arguing that investigators went too far when demanding extensive internal data during probes launched four years ago. The company’s pushback reflects a broader trend of firms questioning regulatory powers they view as overreaching, according to Reuters.

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    The U.S.-based tech group, which operates Facebook, has taken its case to the EU Court of Justice after an earlier challenge failed before a lower tribunal. Meta has repeatedly criticized the European Commission’s information requests — which were linked to inquiries into Facebook’s data practices and its online marketplace — saying the demands resembled a massive fishing expedition, per Reuters.

    During a hearing before a panel of five judges, Meta’s lawyer Daniel Jowell said the regulators’ demands swept up deeply personal material unrelated to the investigations, including autopsy records of relatives, children’s school information, details about private individuals, and even security arrangements. “These sorts of aberrant, intrusive and disproportionate requests should, in our respectful submission, never have been made,” he told the court.

    Jowell argued that the heart of the dispute is whether EU authorities have virtually unrestricted access to company records or whether their powers must be bounded by privacy rights and proportionality requirements. Meta said the Commission compelled it to filter documents using thousands of search terms, ultimately forcing the production of nearly one million records, according to Reuters.

    Related: Senators Press FTC, SEC to Investigate Meta Over Alleged Profits From Scam Ads

    Representing the Commission, lawyer Giuseppe Conte countered that officials had adhered closely to parameters Meta itself proposed early in the process. He said the list of search terms was far smaller than Meta claimed and insisted that such document requests are standard practice for competition watchdogs globally, per Reuters.

    A ruling from Europe’s highest court is expected next year, a decision that could shape how far regulators may go in demanding corporate data during antitrust probes.

    The dispute unfolds alongside a separate penalty imposed last year, when EU authorities fined Meta €797.7 million ($923.6 million) over alleged anticompetitive behavior by tying Facebook Marketplace to its main social network and setting unfair terms for rival classified ad platforms, according to Reuters.

    The pending cases are formally listed as Meta Platforms Ireland v Commission (Facebook Marketplace) C-496/23 P and Meta Platforms Ireland v Commission (Facebook Data) C-497/23 P.

    Source: Reuters