Multi-billion pound Facebook data-sharing lawsuit given green light in the UK

News
By
published

Facebook's reliance on advertising means it needs as much data as possible

The Meta logo on a smartphone in front of the Facebook logo a little bit blurred in the background
(Image credit: Shutterstock / rafapress)

A lawsuit being brought against Facebook owner Meta on behalf of 45 million people has been given the green light in the UK.

The suit, brought forward by Dr Liza Lovdahl Gormsen, claims that Facebook created conditions of access that require significant access to data on non-Facebook platforms such as Instagram.

Meta has dismissed this claim and a previous claim refused in 2023 as “entirely without merit and we will vigorously defend against them."

Data-hungry Facebook always wants one more byte…

The claim proposes that Facebook abused its market dominance within the social media industry to make access to the platform a “take-it-or-leave-it” offer, as a condition of access is giving Facebook permission to use “Off-Facebook” data.

As a result of this, the claim states that Facebook “has caused its UK users to suffer loss and damage, in particular because they have not been adequately compensated for the commercial value of their data collected and monetised by Facebook concerning their activities off Facebook’s social media site.”

The claim will be heard at the Competition Appeal Tribunal, a specialist body focusing on competition and economic regulation, and is seeking damages in the range of between $2.6 - 3.9 (£2.07 - 3.1) billion.

If the claim succeeds, the compensation would be available to those who have had a Facebook account between February 2016 and October 2023. Facebook-owner Meta previously paid out $725 (£583) million in a US privacy case in 2023.

More from TechRadar Pro

Benedict Collins
Benedict Collins
Staff Writer (Security)

Benedict has been writing about security issues for over 7 years, first focusing on geopolitics and international relations while at the University of Buckingham. During this time he studied BA Politics with Journalism, for which he received a second-class honours (upper division),  then continuing his studies at a postgraduate level, achieving a distinction in MA Security, Intelligence and Diplomacy. Upon joining TechRadar Pro as a Staff Writer, Benedict transitioned his focus towards cybersecurity, exploring state-sponsored threat actors, malware, social engineering, and national security. Benedict is also an expert on B2B security products, including firewalls, antivirus, endpoint security, and password management.