A judge has approved a massive lawsuit against Meta, the company behind Facebook, potentially worth £3 billion.
The case, led by legal expert Dr. Liza Lovdahl Gormsen on behalf of 45 million Facebook users, alleges that the platform unfairly exploited its dominance by requiring users to share their data from other platforms like Instagram.
Meta denies the claims, stating they lack merit and they will vigorously defend against them.
The lawsuit argues that Facebook’s practice of demanding user data from non-Facebook products as a condition of accessing the platform is unjust.
It claims that Facebook’s ability to target advertisements is enhanced by collecting more user data, which in turn increases advertising revenue.
The lawsuit seeks compensation ranging from £2.07 billion to £3.1 billion for users who held Facebook accounts between February 2016 and October 2023.
The legal battle will take place in the Competition Appeal Tribunal, with Meta expressing its commitment to providing users with control over their shared information.
The lawsuit is backed by Innsworth, a company supported by an investment management fund, which has previously funded similar legal actions against companies like Mastercard and Volkswagen.
In a separate case in 2023, Meta paid out $725 million in a privacy settlement to Facebook account holders in the US.
This new lawsuit in the UK highlights ongoing concerns about data privacy and the power dynamics between tech giants and their users.
(Based on BBC as the source)
https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-68309670