Kirstin Ridley

LONDON (Reuters] – A class action is being brought in Britain by Meta Platforms, a social media company now called Facebook (NASDAQ:) over claims that it abused market leadership and exploited the personal information of 44 million Facebook users. The claim amounts to 2.3 billion pounds plus ($3.2 billion).

Liza Lovdahl Gormsen (a senior advisor to Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority) and an academic in competition law, stated that she is taking the case against people living in Britain who have used Facebook between 2015-2019.

This lawsuit will be heard in London by the Competition Appeal Tribubal. It alleges that Facebook made billions by making unfair terms and conditions that required consumers to give up valuable data for accessing its network.

Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, the law firm representing Lovdahl Gormsen, has notified Facebook of the claim.

Facebook stated that users use their services because they are valuable and have control over the information and people who share it on Meta.

This case is coming days after Facebook failed to win an FTC antitrust suit. It was one of the most significant challenges the U.S. government has faced against any tech company for decades, as Washington attempts to combat Big Tech’s vast market power.

Lovdahl- Gornsen stated that Facebook was the only social network where people could connect in the UK in 17 years.

Facebook was not all good. The company abused its market position to place unfair conditions on normal Britons and gave them the power to extract their personal data.

Lovdahl Gormsen claims that Facebook collected personal data through its platform, and mechanisms such as the Facebook Pixel. This allowed it to create an “all-seeing” picture of Internet use and provide valuable data profiles about users.

Opt-out actions like Lovdahl Gormsens bind an identified group into a lawsuit, unless people opt out.

($1 = 0.7277 pounds)