Meta Ordered to Pay $552 Million in Case Alleging GDPR Violations

Core Viewpoint - Meta has been ordered to pay 479 million euros (approximately $552 million) due to violations of the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Spain's antitrust law [1][3]. Group 1: Legal Findings - A Spanish court ruled that Meta used personal data for behavioral advertising on Facebook and Instagram without proper user consent from May 2018 to August 2023 [2][3]. - The court determined that Meta's justification for behavioral advertising based on "necessity for the performance of a contract" was inadequate [4]. - All profits earned by Meta from advertising during the specified five-year period were deemed to be in breach of data protection regulations [4]. Group 2: Compensation and Impact - The compensation ordered by the court will be distributed to 87 digital media agencies, as Meta was found to have gained a "significant competitive advantage" in Spain's online advertising market [3]. - Media organizations argue that platforms like Facebook benefit disproportionately from sharing their content without compensation [5]. Group 3: Ongoing Regulatory Challenges - Meta is also facing accusations from the European Commission for failing to comply with the EU's Digital Services Act, which mandates transparency and accountability from large online platforms [5][6]. - The Commission highlighted that Meta's platforms did not provide user-friendly mechanisms for reporting illegal content and made it difficult for independent researchers to access public data [6].