San Francisco Frontiers - Spanish court to start hearing media case against Meta

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

Spain's main media association AMI says the US tech giant, which also owns Instagram and WhatsApp, created "unfair competition" by "systematically" breaking the law between May 2018 and July 2023.

The association alleges unfair competition in digital advertising sales and is seeking 551 million euros ($647 million) in compensation.

"Meta has ignored European regulations to build its economic empire at the expense of the viability of the media and the right of all citizens to information," AMI's director general Irene Lanzaco told AFP.

Witnesses are scheduled to testify on Wednesday at a commercial court in Madrid, with expert reports and closing arguments expected on Thursday.

"While Spanish media outlets requested user consent, Meta gained an undue advantage and engaged in unfair competition," said AMI's lawyer, Nicolas Gonzalez Cuellar.

"There is no need to fear confronting these seemingly powerful giants when the law is on your side."

Meta's lawyer, Javier de Carvajal, told a preliminary hearing in November that the company denied any damage or violation of EU rules.

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

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

A similar lawsuit has also emerged in France, where around 200 media groups, including major television networks and leading newspapers, filed legal action against Meta in April.

J.Scott--SFF