A high-profile lawsuit in Madrid, in which Spanish media companies are demanding more than €550 million from the Meta corporation for alleged violations of EU data protection laws, reached its final stage on Thursday with closing arguments.
‘The case is now ready for judgment,’ declared Judge Teodoro Ladrón Roda as he wrapped up the second and last day of hearings at Madrid’s commercial court. A verdict is expected in the coming weeks.
The action was brought in 2023 by AMI (Asociación de Medios de Información), Spain’s leading media association, which accuses Meta, the owner of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp – of exploiting users’ personal information without consent to build targeted advertising profiles. ALSO READ: Spanish media association files €550m lawsuit against Meta over data protection.
AMI says this breached European data protection rules and created unfair competition in online advertising. The group is seeking nearly €551 million in damages.
According to AMI, Spanish outlets that respected the regulations were left at a disadvantage.
‘In defending this case, we are defending our very existence, because press freedom is fundamental to society,’ said AMI’s lawyer Nicolás González Cuéllar in his closing statement. ‘We need a pluralistic media, not oligarchic platforms dominating the market.’
Meta rejects the accusations. Its lawyer, Javier de Carvajal, asked the court to throw out the lawsuit, saying the claims were ‘unsupported by evidence’. The company insists it ‘complies with all applicable laws’ and argues the complaint is ‘unfounded’, failing to take into account changes in the advertising industry.
Executives from Meta testified on Wednesday that algorithms, not personal data, are the key factor in producing targeted ads.
Among the media groups represented by AMI are Prisa, publisher of Spain’s top-selling newspaper El País; Grupo Godó, which owns La Vanguardia; Vocento, publisher of the conservative daily ABC; and Unidad Editorial, which runs El Mundo and the sports paper Marca.
Meanwhile, Spanish radio and TV broadcasters have launched a separate case against Meta, demanding €160 million on the same grounds.
In France, a comparable lawsuit was filed in April by around 200 outlets, including major TV networks and national newspapers.
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⚖️La @ami_asociacion, en representación de 83 medios, ha presentado sus conclusiones en el juicio contra @META.
— AMI (@ami_asociacion) October 2, 2025
➡️Nuestro compromiso: garantizar un mercado publicitario justo, pluralismo informativo y libertad de prensa: https://t.co/vfAsv9Vy6H pic.twitter.com/JftYgk3XSD
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