A Madrid court has ordered Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, to pay €481 million ($554 million) in damages to 81 Spanish media outlets for unfair competition. The court ruled that Meta violated European data protection laws by extracting personal data of internet users without proper consent and using it to create more effective advertising.
The ruling, issued by Mercantile Court No. 15 of Madrid, stated that Meta's actions gave it an unfair market advantage over Spanish digital media outlets, harming their online advertising revenues. The court found that Meta had breached the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) for five years, until it updated its legal basis for data collection in 2023.
Meta responded, calling the claim baseless and lacking evidence of harm. The company stated it complies with all applicable laws and provides users with clear choices and transparency. This is not the first time Meta has faced penalties in Europe; in 2022, Irish regulators fined Meta €265 million for GDPR violations.
The Spanish court suggested its ruling could influence similar cases in other European countries, including France. Meta has been advocating for the EU to relax its data protection rules, which are stricter than those in the United States.
