Spanish Media Win 481 Million Euro Damages Against Meta over GDPR breach
A Madrid-based court has ordered Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, to pay nearly 481 million euros in damages to 81 Spanish media outlets. The court found that Meta had exploited an unfair market advantage by collecting personal data from internet users without proper compliance with European law. This data was then used to enhance advertising effectiveness, which negatively impacted the revenues of Spanish online media companies.
The court ruled that Meta violated the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) over a period of five years. The GDPR requires companies to implement strict technical and organizational measures to protect user privacy when processing personal data. Meta updated its legal consent framework only in 2023 to align with these regulations, but the court determined that the previous practices were unlawful.
Meta has announced plans to appeal the ruling, describing the claim as baseless and asserting that it complies with all applicable laws. The company emphasized that it provides users with transparent information and control over their data. Despite Meta’s defense, this case marks a significant legal setback, following a previous 265 million euro fine by Irish regulators in 2022 for similar GDPR violations.
The Spanish court also indicated that this decision could influence ongoing legal cases in other European countries, including France. Meta has been advocating for the European Union to relax its data protection rules, which are stricter than those in the United States. This ruling highlights the increasing enforcement of GDPR standards against major technology firms in Europe.
