Overview
- Madrid’s Commercial Court No. 15 ordered Meta to pay €479 million to 87 Spanish digital publishers and news agencies for an unfair competitive advantage gained through unlawful personal-data processing for ads.
- The ruling covers conduct from May 25, 2018 to August 1, 2023 and relies on a CNMC study after Meta did not provide Spanish accounts, with the judge estimating more than €5.281 billion in local ad revenue over the period.
- The court said Meta’s illicit data use gave it a “significant competitive advantage” over the digital press and also granted interest awards, including additional sums to non-AMI claimants such as Europa Press.
- Meta said it will appeal and called the case unfounded, while Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced a congressional inquiry that will summon company executives over possible privacy violations.
- Two days earlier in Washington, D.C., Judge James Boasberg dismissed the FTC’s monopoly claim and rejected divestiture of Instagram and WhatsApp, finding strong competition from TikTok and YouTube undermined the FTC’s market definition.