The trial, set for October 1 and 2, was disclosed by the 15th Madrid commercial court. The lawsuit was initiated by the AMI media association, representing 87 Spanish media companies, who claim that Meta's actions violated EU data protection regulations.
The plaintiffs assert that Meta's substantial and methodical use of personal data from users of its platforms—Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp—provides it with an unfair advantage in developing and delivering personalized advertisements, which they contend constitutes unfair competition.
A Meta representative has not yet provided a statement on the matter.
Among the complainants are prominent newspaper publishers such as Prisa, which publishes El Pais, and Vocento, the proprietor of ABC Newspaper.
In a related development, Spanish television and radio broadcasting associations UTECA and AERC jointly announced last month that they have filed a separate lawsuit against Meta for 160 million euros on similar grounds.
These legal actions reflect the efforts of traditional media to challenge technology giants in both judicial and legislative arenas to safeguard their revenue, asserting that these companies should provide fair compensation for the use and distribution of their content.
However, some of these initiatives have encountered setbacks in countries such as Canada and Australia, where Meta has restricted users from sharing news articles.
In other regions, Meta has been reducing its promotion of news and political content to enhance user engagement, noting that news links now constitute only a small portion of users' feeds.