Meta Ordered to Pay $552 Million to Spanish Media for Data Law Breach
A Madrid court ruled against Meta Platforms, ordering the tech giant to compensate Spanish media organizations €500 million ($552 million) for systematic violations of data protection laws. The verdict follows a 2023 lawsuit by Spain's AMI media association alleging Meta gained unfair advertising advantages by illegally harvesting user data between 2018-2023.
"This sets a global precedent for platform accountability," said AMI director Irene Lanzaco, framing the case as existential for news publishers battling "predatory" tech firms. Meta executives countered that algorithms—not user data—drive their ad targeting systems.