Groundbreaking German Antitrust Ruling Limits Facebook’s Use of Data for Advertising

On Tuesday, Facebook lost a lawsuit in the European Union’s highest court over a groundbreaking German antitrust ruling that limits the company’s use of data for advertising.

European Court of Justice Allows Competition Watchdogs to Check Facebook’s Compliance with Privacy Rules

The European Court of Justice said that competition watchdogs can check whether companies like Facebook comply with the continent’s strict privacy rules, which are usually set by national data privacy regulators.

Antitrust Authorities Can Consider Data Privacy Violations in Tech Giants’ Investigations

The court ruled that antitrust authorities can take into account any violations of data privacy rules when investigating whether tech giants are abusing their dominant market position by driving out competitors.

“We’re evaluating the court’s decision and will release more over time,” Meta, Facebook’s parent company, said in a statement.

German Antitrust Ruling Threatens Meta’s Business Model

The court upheld a 2019 German antitrust ruling that threatens Meta’s business model of selling targeted ads to users based on data gathered from how time is spent on its services.

Meta Challenges the Measure

Meta, which also owns Instagram and WhatsApp, challenged the measure, prompting German authorities to seek an opinion from the Court, the highest court in the 27-country bloc.