Facebook’s Parent Company Faces $3.2 Billion Lawsuit In UK Over Market Dominance Abuse

Social media giant, Meta Platforms, formerly known as Facebook Inc., faces a lawsuit of more than 2.3 million pounds in Britain over claims that it abused its market dominance by taking advantage of the personal data of 44 million users.

Liza Lovdahl Gormsen, a senior adviser to Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), said she was bringing the case on behalf of the British people who had used Facebook between 2015 and 2019.

According to Reuters, the lawsuit alleges that Facebook made billions of pounds by imposing unfair terms and conditions that compelled consumers to disclose important personal data to gain access to the network.

“In the 17 years since it was created, Facebook became the sole social network in the UK where you could be sure to connect with friends and family in one place.

“Yet, there was a dark side to Facebook; it abused its market dominance to impose unfair terms and conditions on ordinary Britons, giving it the power to exploit their personal data,” Lovdahl Gornsen said.

Gormsen also alleges Facebook collected data within its platform and through mechanisms like the Facebook Pixel, allowing it to build an “all-seeing picture” of Internet usage and generate valuable, deep data profiles of users.

Facebook on the other hand, has said people used its service because it delivered value for them and “they have meaningful control of what information they share on Meta’s platforms and who with.”

Quinn Emanuel Urquhart and Sullivan, the law firm representing Lovdahl Gormsen, has notified Facebook of the claim.

The case, which will be heard by London’s Competition Appeal Tribunal, comes days after Facebook attempted to strike out an antitrust lawsuit by the Federal Trade Commission in Washington, which the company lost.