Meta is preparing for a blockbuster legal battle over data privacy in Spain set for a hearing in 2025 that dares to suggest has far-ranging consequences. The parent company of Facebook is facing accusations of breaking EU data protection rules, something so precarious that it has the potential to shake the very foundations of data protection in Spain and beyond. Has Meta made €550 million from Spain-based euros, or did they reach that figure by analyzing user data unconsented? Meta used user data in terribly user-hostile ways in the past, but I do not know how they managed to do all of that without constantly being targeted with numerous lawsuits. Perhaps I was overly optimistic because they are being lawfully roasted in Spain.
The case is Meta versus AMI and revolves around accusations of questionable marketing techniques, which stem from harvesting user data between a rather vague May 2018 and July 2023. AMI represents 90 Spanish media corporations, which make up a hefty fraction of the Spanish landscape, and they maintain that the use of data was not only done in an aggressive power unfriendly manner but also without consent. At least in the information-saturated world, we live in, it’s no secret that Meta has built its empire over the last 20 years while painstakingly ignoring laws and clauses set to protect individuals from big corporations reaping all the rewards. Many people question Pieces for privacy policy, but it can be construed, at best, as hollow.
Starting from April 23, Meta is expected to target advertising strategies. During this period, Meta was said to have earned considerable amounts from advertising on various Europe-based publishers, which AMI claims as their gross non-compliance breach of GDPR. The publishers claim that Meta’s actions during the span gave Meta an unfair competitive advantage in advertising, making it difficult for smaller, legally compliant publishers to compete with Meta. Spanish publishers have, thus, incurred massive economic detriment.
Meta: Ad Targeting at Scale and Its Adverse Consequences to The Market
The illicit data gathering described by AMI to the obliteration of traditional media provides ample explanation for the above contention. Aggressive advertisement would always provide Meta with high marginal effectiveness relative to traditional media entities with severe data restrictions. These entities, already struggling with monetizing their content, found it impossible to compete in a world dominated by aggressive digital advertising.
Meta has not issued any public statements to endorse any accusations so far. The Meta legal team claims that they have been compliant with EU legislation throughout and that the competitive use of personal data does not provide an advantage to Meta. The question that has not been resolved is why Meta has been sanctioned so many times for GDPR violations throughout Europe. It seems to contradict Meta’s stance on claiming good faith when using personal data for services.
Europe’s Growing Crackdown on Meta’s Data Strategies
The lawsuit from Spain is a Meta’s data practices lawsuit that follows Ireland’s DPC challenge. In January 2023, Ireland’s Data Protection Commission imposed a penalty on Meta over $400 million due to users being forced into personalized ads. Afterward, the European Board took matters into its own hands and banned Meta’s advertising and marketing model in the European Economic Area.
This led Meta to implement a subscription model across Europe that removed advertisement targeting but charged €13 a month on mobile. However, the European Commission ruled in July 2023 that advertisement restrictions did not comply with ‘non-consent’ legislation and gave users no option but to agree to account restrictions. They previously argued Meta is coercing personal data tracking in the absence of non-targeted adverts.
Meta’s Global Struggles with Regulation
Meta does not face legal issues solely in Spain. Other lawsuits are in play, such as those from Spanish television and radio corporations, who are suing for €160 million as GDPR infringement. Further, countries outside Europe have taken relative actions forbidding Meta from taking advantage of their countries.
Australia enacted a law in 2021 that mandated digital platforms to pay publishers for content that is used on their platforms. In turn, Meta retaliated by blocking Australians from viewing news content on Facebook. When Canada passed a similar law in 2023, Meta took measures by banning Canadian news articles from their platforms. These measures bring to light Meta’s hostile stance on government policies that disrupt the pedestal of the advertising geared business framework.
That being said, Meta has presented itself as partially flexible. In August 2024, the Competition and Markets Authority in the UK cleared Meta’s revised policy on advertising data after scrutinizing whether Meta had extracted data from competitors in an unscrupulous manner.
The Legal Developments: Data Privacy Issues in the Technology Sphere
The ongoing legal challenges against Meta are an integral part of the worldwide comprehensive discourse about data privacy, especially about the masters of technology. The EU has led this critical battle against Meta’s data policies on record as the first region that takes a stand against what they deem as data abuse of the spearheading tech data vultures.
This lawsuit has much broader implications than financial recompense for Spanish media outlets. It is essentially about determining who controls the digital advertising industry. Big media believes that big tech companies like Meta need to take responsibility for the economic impact their operations inflict on journalism and small publishing houses.
What Comes After This For Meta?
Meta has no choice but to change its data practices to meet EU standards and regulations that are becoming increasingly stringent as the trial date set for October 2025 approaches. This is especially true considering how the Spanish media outlets stand to set significant digital advertising precedents all over Europe if they win that case.
Everyone worldwide is interested in how the EU deals with Meta’s legal troubles. The outcome will hopefully improve legislation governing the data collection practices of powerful technology corporations.
Meta now faces legal action that could mark the company’s presence in Europe, especially in Spain, where issues surrounding data practices and privacy boundaries are already a problem. Meta tries to defend its practices to self-sustain the company’s actions; however, the legal attention drawn to the company implies that its practices and conduct are being questioned. Meta and other companies within this niche must now comply with a protected framework that looks out for consumer privacy and data accountability.
The answer becomes apparent, already being a pioneer towards self-verification as societal structures and companies’ privacy walls become further away. Seeking to defend Meta, many state-owned companies cry out, arguing that penalties shouldn’t be imposed, which everyone pays attention to due to the severity of the action aimed at Meta. The answer lies within more significant considerations than Meta regarding advertising and people’s privacy.
Reference
Meta to Face €550 Million Lawsuit in Spain Over Targeted Advertising
The €550 million lawsuit against Meta by Spanish media publications set to begin October 2025
Meta faces trial in October on unfair competition case lodged by Spanish media
Meta faces €550m lawsuit from Spanish media
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