Meta Faces Fresh Legal Challenge from French Media Giants Over Alleged Advertising Practices

Facebook parent company Meta has been hit with a new lawsuit from a coalition of major French media companies, who accuse the tech giant of engaging in unlawful business practices that allegedly distort competition in the digital advertising market, according to Reuters.

The legal action, which was filed on Wednesday with the Paris business tribunal, marks another chapter in a growing list of European legal challenges targeting Meta’s advertising strategies. The case brings together 67 French media companies, representing around 200 publications, who allege that Meta’s dominance in the online advertising sphere is rooted in practices they claim violate the law—most notably, the mass harvesting of personal user data to power its targeted advertising model.

Among the plaintiffs are some of the most prominent names in French media, including television broadcasters TF1, France TV, and BFM TV, as well as leading print and radio organizations such as Le Figaro, Radio France, Lagardère, and Libération.

Per Reuters, the legal representation for the French media firms includes the international law firm Scott+Scott and French legal group Darrois Villey Maillot Brochier.

Read more: Apple, Meta Hit with Fines Under EU’s New Digital Markets Act

Meta has not issued an immediate response to the filing.

This lawsuit comes amid mounting legal pressure on Meta across Europe. In Spain, the company is due to stand trial this October in a separate case concerning a €551 million ($582 million) complaint brought by more than 80 media outlets over alleged unfair competition in the advertising sector. In addition, online privacy advocates lodged complaints earlier this year in several EU countries regarding the company’s data use in advertising.

Just hours before the French case was filed, EU antitrust authorities imposed penalties on both Meta and Apple for what regulators described as violations of European competition law, Reuters reported.

Source: Reuters