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Meta Accused of EU Data Violations in €551 Million Spanish Lawsuit

By  |  December 1, 2024
Meta

Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook, is set to face trial in Spain in October 2025 over allegations of unfair competition in advertising, according to a statement from a Madrid court on Friday. The case involves a €551 million ($582 million) complaint filed by a group of media companies represented by the AMI media association.

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    The hearings, scheduled for October 1 and 2, 2025, will take place in the 15th Madrid commercial court. The lawsuit, filed in 2022, accuses Meta of breaching European Union data protection regulations from 2018 to 2023, Reuters reported. AMI, which represents 87 Spanish media outlets, claims that Meta’s practices have undercut traditional media companies in the advertising market.

    Broader Legal Challenges in Spain

    This is not the only legal challenge Meta faces in Spain. In a separate case, Spanish television and radio broadcaster associations UTECA and AERC filed a €160 million lawsuit against Meta last month, also citing violations of EU data protection laws. These lawsuits reflect a growing push by legacy media organizations to hold tech giants accountable, asserting that such companies should pay equitable fees for leveraging and disseminating their content.

    Read more: Meta Faces April Trial Over FTC Antitrust Allegations

    Global Context of Media vs. Tech Giants

    The Spanish legal actions are part of a broader global effort by traditional media outlets to challenge the dominance of tech companies in both courts and legislative arenas. Media organizations argue that platforms like Facebook benefit disproportionately from sharing their content without fair compensation. However, some attempts to regulate this dynamic have encountered resistance. For example, in countries like Canada and Australia, Meta has restricted users from reposting news articles in response to legislative measures.

    Meta has also shifted its approach to news and political content globally, scaling back its emphasis on such material. The company has stated that news links now constitute only a small portion of the content in users’ feeds.

    Source: Reuters