Spanish media association files $598 mln lawsuit against Facebook owner Meta (updated)
04/12/2023 08:34
(Adds detail)
MADRID, Dec 4 (Reuters) - A group representing 83
Spanish media outlets on Monday said it has filed a 550 million
euro ($598 million) lawsuit against Facebook owner Meta
Platforms META.O , citing unfair competition in the advertising
market.
The lawsuit was filed by the AMI newspaper publishing
association in a commercial court on Friday, the association
said in a statement on Monday.
The newspapers said Meta's "massive" and "systematic" use of
personal data from the users of its Facebook, Instagram and
Whatsapp platforms allows it to get an unfair advantage to
design and offer personalized ads that constitute unfair
competition.
The complainants, comprising Prisa PRS.MC - which
publishes Spain's main newspaper El Pais - and Vocento VOC.MC ,
the owner of ABC and other media, as well as other
privately-owned groups, said most of the ads placed by Meta use
personal data obtained without express consent from clients and
thus violate data protection rules.
Meta's press office did not immediately respond to a request
for comment.
The complaint is the second time Spanish media are
challenging tech companies to protect their turf.
In 2014, the Spanish government forced the closure of
Alphabet's GOOGL.O Google News service until 2022 when new
legislation allowing media outlets to negotiate directly with
the tech giant was passed.
($1 = 0.9203 euros)
(Reporting by Inti Landauro and Jakub Olesiuk;
Editing by David Goodman and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
((Inti.Landauro@thomsonreuters.com;))