In a landmark decision, a Madrid court has mandated that Meta, the tech giant behind Facebook and Instagram, compensate Spanish media companies with nearly 500 million euros. This ruling asserts that Meta gained an unfair advantage by misusing personal data to enhance advertising efficiency.
The verdict from Madrid’s mercantile court No. 15 stated that Meta’s breach of European data privacy laws provided it with competitive leverage, impacting the advertising revenues of Spanish digital media. Consequently, Meta is required to pay 481 million euros ($554 million) to 81 aggrieved Spanish media outlets.
The court underscored that Meta’s unauthorized data practices spanned five years, only aligning with European regulations in 2023. These regulations, known as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), have been in effect since 2018, emphasizing stringent measures for user privacy protection.
Meta has announced plans to challenge the decision, labeling it as “baseless.” The company argued in a statement, “This is a baseless claim that lacks any evidence of alleged harm and willfully ignores how the online advertising industry works. Meta complies with all applicable laws, and has provided clear choices, transparent information and given users a range of tools to control their experience on our services.”
This is not Meta’s first clash with EU data regulations. In a prior incident, Irish authorities fined Meta 265 million euros in 2022 for similar violations.
The Spanish court’s decision may set a precedent for other European cases, with a similar lawsuit against Meta currently pending in France. Meanwhile, Meta continues to advocate for a relaxation of EU data regulations, which are more stringent than those in the U.S.
In related news, Spain’s financial markets regulator recently fined Elon Musk’s platform, X, 5 million euros for unauthorized cryptocurrency advertising.
