London Court Approves £3 Billion Legal Action Against Facebook.

A judge has greenlit a large-scale legal proceeding against Meta, the parent company of Facebook, potentially valuing at £3 billion. Legal scholar Dr. Liza Lovdahl Gormsen is leading the charge on behalf of 45 million Facebook users. Initially rejected in 2023, the revised claim has now gained approval, with a prospective hearing no later than early 2026.

Meta refutes the claims, asserting they are “entirely without merit” and pledges robust defense. The lawsuit contends that Facebook unfairly leveraged its dominance, compelling users to surrender data from non-Facebook platforms like Instagram and third-party websites. This data sharing, stipulated as part of a “take-it-or-leave-it” offer, allegedly constitutes an abuse of power.

Facebook’s revenue model, reliant on targeted advertising, hinges on amassing user data. Consequently, the lawsuit seeks £2.07-3.1 billion in compensation for users active between February 2016 and October 2023. The case will be adjudicated at the Competition Appeal Tribunal.

Meta emphasizes its commitment to empowering users with control over their data and investing in tools to facilitate this control. The legal action is financially backed by Innsworth, a company supported by an investment management fund that has previously funded litigation against corporations like Mastercard, Ericsson, and Volkswagen. In a related development, Meta previously settled a privacy case in the US, paying out $725 million (£583 million) to Facebook account holders in 2023.