A Spanish commercial court has ruled that Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, engaged in unfair competition and violated European Union data protection rules, ordering the company to pay €479 million in compensation to 87 Spanish digital media outlets. With interest and additional allocations to specific claimants—including Europa Press and Radio Blanca—the total amount rises to approximately €542 million. Meta has announced that it will appeal the decision, El Pais reported.
The judgment, issued by Madrid’s Commercial Court No. 15, found that Meta gained a “significant competitive advantage” in Spain’s online advertising market by unlawfully processing personal data for behavioural advertising between the entry into force of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in May 2018 and July 2023. During this period, Meta shifted its legal basis for data processing from user consent to “contractual necessity,” a rationale subsequently deemed inadequate by EU regulators. Although Meta reverted to consent in August 2023, the court held that the company’s prior conduct breached the GDPR and, by extension, Spain’s competition law.
Judge Teodoro Ladrón Roda concluded that Meta’s extensive database of user information—acquired without the legally required consent—enabled the company to offer highly targeted advertising services that competing publishers could not match. The ruling states that Meta “failed in the way it obtained and used personal data,” noting that the GDPR must prevail over Meta’s business model: “It is Meta that must adapt to the GDPR, not the GDPR that must adapt to Meta.”
The court estimated that Meta earned at least €5.3 billion in advertising revenue in Spain during the relevant period and treated the entire amount as having been obtained in breach of EU data protection law. The judgment also criticized Meta for failing to provide financial statements for its Spanish operations covering those years, holding that such omissions justified reliance on the plaintiffs’ revenue estimates.
The case was brought in late 2023 by more than 80 Spanish media outlets represented by the Asociación de Medios de Información (AMI), which claimed that Meta’s practices undermined media sustainability and distorted competition in the digital advertising market. AMI described the ruling as a “historic judicial victory.”
Meta, however, rejected the court’s findings. A spokesperson stated that the lawsuit “lacks any evidence of alleged harm” and “ignores how the online advertising industry works,” insisting that Meta complies with applicable law and provides users with clear choices and tools to manage their data.
The judgment—delivered on 19 November and notified to the parties on 20 November—is subject to appeal before the Provincial Court of Madrid. It may also influence parallel proceedings, including a similar claim in France and related actions brought in Spain by television and radio associations seeking more than €160 million in damages.
The ruling comes amid broader assessment of Meta’s practices in Europe. Last year, the European Commission imposed fines totaling nearly €800 million for anticompetitive conduct involving Facebook Marketplace. Spain’s government has also initiated investigations into alleged unauthorized tracking of Android users, with Meta stating it will cooperate with authorities.