Volkswacht Bodensee - Spain court orders Meta to compensate media for 'unfair competition'

EU rules oblige companies to obtain users' consent to create personalised advertising from their data.

Spain's main media association AMI filed a lawsuit in 2023 against the US tech giant, which also owns Instagram and WhatsApp, accusing it of creating "unfair competition" by "systematically" breaking the law between May 2018 and July 2023.

A Madrid commercial court which heard the case last month ruled in favour of AMI, saying Meta had gained a "significant competitive advantage" in its digital adverstising sales by violating the data protection rules.

AMI had been seeking 551 million euros in compensation.

"This isn't a case that affects only AMI's outlets, it has implications for media worldwide," AMI director general Irene Lanzaco told reporters on the opening day of the trial.

"What's at stake is the very survival of news media, which is being threatened by the predatory behaviour of a platform like Meta, acting with no regard for our legal framework."

Meta executives told the trial that user data mattered less than algorithms to generate personalised advertising.

The company's lawyer, Javier de Carvajal, had urged the court to dismiss the compensation claims, calling them "unsupported by evidence".

The compensation is to be paid out to 87 media outlets.

Media groups represented by AMI include Prisa, owner of Spain's top-selling daily newspaper El Pais; Vocento, which publishes the conservative daily ABC; and Unidad Editorial, whose titles include daily El Mundo.

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

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Wednesday said Spain would investigate Meta for allegedly violating millions of users' privacy, summoning the US tech giant to answer before parliament.

G.Haefliger--VB