Facebook faces $3.2 billion class action in uk lawsuit

A woman holds a Facebook logo in front of a display of Facebook's new rebrand logo Meta in this illustration picture taken October 28, 2021. REUTERS Dado Ruvic Illustration File Photo

LONDON, Jan 14 Reuters -- Facebook FB.O now known as Meta Platforms faces a 2.3 billion pound plus $3.2 billion plus class action in Britain over allegations that it abused its market dominance by exploiting the personal data of 44 million users.

Liza Lovdahl Gormsen, a senior adviser to Britain's Financial Conduct Authority FCA watchdog and a competition law professor, said she was bringing the case on behalf of people in Britain who had used Facebook between 2015 and 2019.

The lawsuit is being heard by London's Competition Appeal Tribubal and alleges that Facebook made billions of pounds by imposing unfair terms and conditions that demanded consumers surrender valuable personal data to access the network.

The law firm that represents Lovdahl Gormsen, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Sullivan, has notified Facebook of the claim.

Facebook said people used its services because it delivered value for them, and they have the control of what information they share on Meta's platforms and who with. The case comes after Facebook lost an attempt to strike out of an antitrust lawsuit by the Federal Trade Commission FTC, one of the biggest challenges of the U.S. government against a tech company in decades, as Washington attempts to tackle Big Tech's extensive market power. In the 17 years since it was created, Facebook became the only social network in the UK where you could connect with friends and family in one place, according to Lovdahl Gornsen.

There was a dark side to Facebook, as it abused its market dominance to impose unfair terms and conditions on ordinary Britons, giving it the power to exploit their personal data. Lovdahl Gormsen alleges that Facebook collected data within its platform and through mechanisms like Facebook Pixel, allowing it to build an all-seeking picture of Internet usage and generate valuable, deep data profiles of users.

Lovdahl Gormsen's opt-out class actions bind a defined group automatically into a lawsuit unless individuals opt out.