Online advertising: Meta to pay Spanish media 542 million euros
When Meta did not give users the option to individually object to targeted online advertising, it was a violation of competition law, rules a court in Spain.
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In Spain, a court has ruled that Meta must pay 542 million euros to various digital media outlets because the US internet giant gained a "significant competitive advantage" through the unlawful processing of user data. This is reported by the newspaper El PaĂs, which belongs to the plaintiff media group AMI. According to the report, the court imposed a fine of 479 million euros, plus well over 60 million euros in interest. The ruling could be groundbreaking for similar legal disputes in other European countries, writes the Spanish daily newspaper. However, Meta can still appeal the verdict.
Meta showed little cooperation
According to the AsociaciĂłn de Medios de InformaciĂłn (AMI), which comprises more than 80 online media outlets, the proceedings concerned Facebook's controversial handling of user data after the GDPR came into effect. At the time, Facebook presented them with a choice: either they accepted the updated terms and conditions, thereby agreeing to Meta using data about their behavior for advertising, or they would leave the platform. This practice was only ended in August 2023. The court has now ruled that Meta alone generated at least 5.3 billion euros from advertising in Spain during this period. The compensation was calculated on this basis.
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According to the report, Meta itself did not provide any business figures for Spain, which is why AMI's data was used as the basis. If these had been higher than the actual revenue generated, the US company would have had an incentive to correct the assumption, the organization believes. The media association also assumes that the verdict, which is not yet legally binding, could have significant implications for the online advertising market in Spain and Europe. Similar lawsuits are being heard in France, among other countries. The Spanish case was filed in 2023. Meta has not commented on the verdict to the Reuters news agency. However, it is to be expected that the US company will appeal against it.
(mho)
