Facebook’s parent company, Meta gets sued for £2.3 billion in a class-action lawsuit for exploiting user data in the UK. The lawsuit claims that nearly 44 million Facebook users in the UK had their data exploited after signing up to the social network. The case argues that Meta has broken the 1998 Competition Act by placing an “unfair price” for Facebook’s UK users when they are granted access to the service.
Meta Earns 98 Percent of its Income from Advertisers
The lawsuit over exploiting user data brought by the legal expert Dr. Liza Lovdahl Gormsen claims that the price for getting on Facebook, which does not charge its users, is passing over personal data that yields most of the company’s revenue. Worldwide, Meta earns 98% of its income from advertisers, who are able to target distinct demographics and consumers because the firm has built up profiles of its users through their online activity.
“They are exploiting user data by taking their personal data without properly compensating them for taking that data,” said Lovdahl Gormsen, who added that Facebook had a “completely disproportionate” relationship with its users. “I don’t think the users are entirely clear when they click on the terms and conditions how unfair that deal is.”
Lovdahl Gormsen is Handling the Lawsuit Over Exploiting User Data
Lovdahl Gormsen, a rival law professional at the British Institute of International and Comparative Law, is bringing the class action at the Competition Appeal Tribunal in London as an opt-out case. This suggests Facebook users covered by it do not need to vigorously join the case to receive damages and will be part of the claim unless they choose to opt out from it. The lawsuit encircles the period from 1 October 2015 to 31 December 2019.
A Meta spokesperson said: “People access our service for free. They choose our services because we deliver value for them and they have meaningful control of what information they share on Meta’s platforms and who with. We have invested heavily to create tools that allow them to do so.”
Read more: Facebook Introduces New Privacy Center to Educate People on Their Privacy Options
Source: Pro Pakistani
