Spain: Over 80 media sue Meta, demand 550m euros in damages

The trial is considered particularly important, and the hearing session began at 10:00 (local time) in a trade court in the Spanish capital and will last until tomorrow, Thursday.

The Media Association (AMI), the main sector association in Spain, filed an indictment in December 2023 against Meta in Ireland, where the American technology giant has its European headquarters. It requires 551m euros for unfair competition in the sale of digital advertising.

“What is at stake here is the survival of the media threatened by the predatory behaviour of a platform like Meta, which acts without respect for our legislative framework”, the association's general director, before the start of the trial session, follows Periscope.

Whatever Meta did was create a massive profile of the behavior of all internet users and, based on this massive profile, without informing them or taking their consent, the group sold ads according to sectors, thus making a huge profit from an illegal act, regulatoryly,”, he insisted.

AMI accuses Meta of violating the European data protection regulation between May 2018 and July 2023, using internet users' data without their consent to create personal advertising profiles.

“Meta respects all laws”

“This is an groundless claim that (...) is not based on any evidence about the supposed damage, while also deliberately ignoring the evolution of the advertising industry over the last years”, Meta responded to a sent message. AFP's.

“Meta respects all laws in force and has offered clear elections, transparent information and a wide range of tools for users to control their experience in our” services, the group also argued.

Witnesses are due to testify today, and expert reports and the conclusions of the parties will be presented tomorrow.

Among the media groups represented by AMI are Prisa, owner of the newspaper El Pais and the sports newspaper AS, but Godo ( La Vanguardia, Mundo depositorivo..., Editorial Unidad (El Mundo, Marcha) and Vocento, which publishs the conservative ABC newspaper.

In addition to the AMI, Spanish radio television stations filed charges against Meta for the same reasons, demanding compensation of 160m euros. /tch/