Facebook will face a class action lawsuit seeking around £3 billion ($3.77 billion) in damages over allegations the social network abused its dominant position to monetise users' personal data, the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) has ruled.
Liza Lovdahl Gormsen, a legal expert who is bringing the case on behalf of some 45 million Facebook users in the UK, said users were not being adequately compensated for the value of the personal data they had provided. The lawyers argued that users should be compensated for the economic value they would have received.
Last year, CAT refused to allow the case against Meta to proceed, Reuters reported. However, on February 15, the court agreed to hear the case after lawyers adjusted their requests. In his ruling, Judge Marcus Smith said a final hearing in the case could take place as late as the first half of 2026. However, Meta Platforms Inc., Facebook's parent company, said the lawsuit was completely without merit. Meta's lawyers argued that users' claims for damages ignored the economic value Facebook brought to them.
This is the latest case the CAT has allowed to proceed, following separate cases against Sony, Apple and several major banks last year.
CHI HANH
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