80 Spanish media demand E550 million from Meta for unfair

80 Spanish media demand €550 million from Meta for “unfair competition”

According to the association that represents them, more than 80 Spanish media outlets filed a complaint on Monday against Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, accusing it of failing to comply with European rules on personal data protection.

These media, grouped in the Association of Information Media (AMI), the main professional media organization in Spain, are demanding 550 million euros from the American group in this complaint for “unfair competition,” the AMI specifies in a statement.

They accuse him of having “systematically and massively” violated “European data protection laws” between May 25, 2018 and July 31, 2023, which require internet users’ consent to the use of their data for advertising profiling purposes.

A practice that would have “allowed the American corporation to (…) offer the sale of advertising space on the basis of an unlawfully obtained competitive advantage”, to the detriment of the traditional media, which has respected this regulation, assures the AMI.

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Meta “built its dominant position in the advertising market by ignoring regulations,” causing “obvious damage to the Spanish media, even endangering its viability,” believes AMI president José Joly, quoted in the press release.

The media groups represented by this association include Prisa, owner of the daily newspaper “El País” and the sports newspaper “AS”, but also Godo (“La Vanguardia”, “Mundo deportivo”…) and Vocento, publisher of the conservative daily newspaper “ABC “.

Meta was contacted and did not immediately respond to inquiries from AFP.

This complaint comes because at the beginning of November the American group launched in Europe a new system that will allow you to stop seeing personalized advertising in exchange for a subscription or to “continue to use its services for free” by agreeing to the provision of your agree to personal data. .

This new model is the subject of several complaints in Austria and Brussels and in France the subject of a report to the Directorate-General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Anti-Fraud (DGCCRF).

According to Insider Intelligence, Facebook and Instagram have 144 and 133 million regular users in Europe (excluding the UK), respectively.