For the first time in French history, 67 media organizations representing 200 publications – including public and private TV as well radio networks, regional and national newspapers – have joined forces and filed a lawsuit before the Business Tribunal (Tribunal des Activités Économiques) in Paris against Meta to recover losses stemming from unfair business and advertising practices.
In an unprecedented legal action, France’s leading publishers today filed an action against Meta to recoup significant financial losses as a result of the tech giant’s unlawful business practices.
Meta derives 98% of its global revenue from digital advertising.
As the lawsuit alleges, Meta’s market dominance in the digital advertising sector is predominantly based on illegal practices, including the large-scale collection of personal data and its unlawful use for targeted advertising – a common practice that is a flagrant violation of the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the world’s strictest personal data protection mechanism.
For years Meta has collected and continues to collect sensitive personal data on a massive scale without informing or obtaining the consent of its users. Meta then wrongfully misuses this data for ultra-targeted advertising at the detriment of traditional media.
Meta has become one of the most heavily fined companies under the GDPR, with penalties exceeding $2.8 billion. In December 2022, the Irish Data Protection Commission fined Meta $427 million for processing Facebook and Instagram user data for targeted advertising without valid consent. This was followed by a record-breaking $1.3 billion fine in May 2023 for unlawfully transferring European Facebook user data to the United States. Meta’s platforms now account for 6 of the 10 largest GDPR fines, highlighting its repeated failures to comply with EU privacy laws. The European Commission on April 23 fined Meta €200 million for failing to give consumers choices on how their personal data is used.
