edition
Ar Es
Al Mayadeen English
  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Feature
  • Videos
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Feature
Videos
Infographs
In Pictures
  1. Home
  2. News
  3. Europe
  4. Meta suffers EU setback against German antitrust rules
Europe

Meta suffers EU setback against German antitrust rules

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 20 Sep 2022 16:00

Meta accuses the German antitrust watchdog of overstepping its powers.

  • Facebook parent Meta in EU setback against German rules.
    Facebook parent Meta

Meta, the parent company of Facebook on Tuesday, lost its appeal against German antitrust laws after the regulator received support from the court's senior counsel.

After the German government forbade Meta from linking user data from its numerous services, including Instagram and WhatsApp, to their Facebook accounts for advertising purposes, Meta filed a legal challenge.

Read next: Meta injecting code into websites to track its users: Research

The German Federal Competition Authority prohibited Meta from data processing after finding that it abused the company's dominant position in the social network market.

A court in Düsseldorf received a challenge from Facebook regarding the German ruling and forwarded the matter to the European court.

The Russian segment of Instagram, which is banned in #Russia, has lost about 48% of users since the start of the war in #Ukraine, with the number of daily publications having dropped by 46%, a Brand Analytics report showed on Saturday. pic.twitter.com/kFJyugixf4

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) April 10, 2022

The EU court's advocate general said on Tuesday that while the antitrust authority does not have the jurisdiction to rule on an infringement of data protection rules, compliance with such rules could be taken as an "important indicator" in ascertaining if an entity has breached competition rules.

The court advisor also noted that a ban on processing sensitive personal data, such as an individual's ethnic origin, health, or sexual orientation, could apply in this case.

Read next: Texas bans social media apps from censoring users due to "viewpoint"

To be exempted, the prohibition concerning such data "must be fully aware that, by an explicit act, he is making personal data public."

The advocate general added that the "conduct consisting in visiting websites and apps, entering data into those websites and apps and clicking on buttons integrated into them cannot, in principle, be regarded in the same way as conduct that manifestly makes public the user's sensitive personal data."

The advocate general's opinion is non-binding, but it often indicates which way the court will rule.

  • Facebook
  • Germany
  • Meta
  • European Union

Trending Now

All
Instagram users call for boycotting Meta over hate speech against Russia

Campaign to boycott Meta over anti-Russia hate speech

Most Read

US unprepared for potential war with China: Study

US unprepared for potential war with China: Study

  • US & Canada
  • 23 Jan
Twitter headquarters is shown in San Francisco on Nov. 4, 2022 (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)

FBI created dashboard to mislabel Twitter users as Russian bots

  • US & Canada
  • 27 Jan
The Russian-manufactured Marker 2 tank-striker (Military Review)

Russia reveals Marker 2 combat robots

  • Europe
  • 26 Jan
Buzzfeed CEO Jonah Peretti (Getty Images)

Buzzfeed to use AI to write its articles after firing 180 employees

  • US & Canada
  • 27 Jan

Read this

All
Number of Palestinian prisoners sentenced to life in prison 553
Palestine

Number of Palestinian prisoners sentenced to life in prison 553

  • 29 Jan
"Israel" did saturday's attack on Iran: WSJ citing US officials
US & Canada

"Israel" did saturday's attack on Iran: WSJ citing US officials

  • 29 Jan
The Utter Disconnect between 'Realities'
Europe

Time may be on Russia's side in Ukraine, say Western officials: WSJ

  • 29 Jan
Screen grab from a video depicting the intact roof of the targeted building in yestreday's attack (IRIB)
MENA

Iranian TV: Isfahan military complex suffered only minor damage

  • 29 Jan
Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS