Meta Ordered to Pay $550 Million to Spanish Media for Data Privacy Violations and Unfair Competition

The Spanish court has ordered Meta, the parent company of Facebook, to compensate 87 media outlets with a total of 479 million euros ($552 million) for "unfair competition" plus an additional 60 million euros in interest.

In Spain, the legal battle began when the country's main media association AMI filed a lawsuit in 2023 against the tech giant. The association accused Meta of creating "unfair competition" by "systematically" violating European Union data protection rules between May 2018 and July 2023.

According to EU regulations, companies must obtain explicit consent from users before creating personalized advertising based on their data. The Madrid commercial court, which heard the case last month, ruled that Meta had gained a "significant competitive advantage" in digital advertising sales by disregarding these data protection regulations.

AMI had initially sought 551 million euros in compensation, which the court largely granted. The association's director general, Irene Lanzaco, emphasized the global significance of this case, stating, "This isn't a case that affects only AMI's outlets; it has implications for media worldwide. What's at stake is the very survival of news media, which is being threatened by the predatory behavior of a platform like Meta, acting with no regard for our legal framework."

During the trial, Meta executives argued that user data was less important than algorithms in generating personalized advertising. The company's lawyer, Javier de Carvajal, urged the court to dismiss the compensation claims, describing them as "unsupported by evidence." However, the court ultimately ruled in favor of the media association.

The beneficiaries of this compensation include 87 media outlets represented by AMI, including prominent groups such as Prisa (owner of Spain's top-selling daily newspaper El País), Vocento (publisher of the conservative daily ABC), and Unidad Editorial (whose titles include daily El Mundo).

In a related development, Spanish radio and television stations have initiated a separate lawsuit against Meta for the same reasons, seeking 160 million euros in damages.

The legal challenges for Meta in Spain continue to mount as Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced on Wednesday that Spain would investigate the company for allegedly violating millions of users' privacy, summoning the US tech giant to answer before parliament.