Antitrust expert plans to file ‘imminent’ collective lawsuit for at least 2.3 billion pounds (2.75 billion euros) against Meta on behalf of British users of her Facebook subsidiary for abuse of a dominant position.
According to a statement Friday, “Liza Lovdahl Gormsen will launch a multi-billion lawsuit in the competition appeals court against Meta, Facebook’s parent company.”
“Over 44 million Britons could be compensated,” the statement added.
A spokeswoman, interviewed by AFP, was unable to say precisely when this complaint would be filed, simply saying that it was “imminent”.
“Ms. Lovdahl Gormsen’s case demonstrates for the first time that the tech giant has abused its dominant position in its market by imposing unfair terms and conditions on UK users to exploit their personal data”, argues the press release.
Ms Lovdahl Gormsen’s attorneys, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, notified Meta of the complaint.
A spokesperson for the tech giant told AFP that “people access our service for free. They choose (it) because it provides them with a valuable service and they have significant control over the information they share on Meta’s platforms and with whom”.
But according to the complainant, it is not fair for British users to be forced to give access to their “high-value” personal data in order to access the social network.
In return for “free” access to the social network, users receive “no monetary reward while Facebook generates billions in revenue with their data. This unfair transaction is possible because of Facebook’s dominant position”.
The complaint comes as Meta faces anti-monopoly lawsuits from the US competition authority that could force it to divest its Instagram and WhatsApp subsidiaries, the statement said.
Meta is also the subject of a class action lawsuit from consumers in the United States and actions by regulatory authorities around the world.
The British data protection regulator (ICO) announced in July its intention to impose a fine of 500,000 pounds (565,000 euros) on Facebook following the Cambridge Analytica affair, and the use without their knowledge. data from millions of users.
The social media giant was also dismissed in May by the Irish courts of its request to block an investigation by the Irish regulator, which could lead to a halt in data transfers from the EU to the United States.
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