Meta, Facebook's parent company, could be forced to pay out billions to UK users. AP.
Meta, Facebook's parent company, could be forced to pay out billions to UK users. AP.
Meta, Facebook's parent company, could be forced to pay out billions to UK users. AP.
Meta, Facebook's parent company, could be forced to pay out billions to UK users. AP.

Facebook court action seeks compensation for 44 million UK users over “unfair” terms


Neil Murphy
  • English
  • Arabic

A multibillion-pound legal claim has been launched against Facebook in the UK, which if successful could mean more than 44 million people are compensated over “unfair” terms and conditions imposed on users.

Competition law expert Dr Liza Lovdahl Gormsen has launched the class-action lawsuit against Facebook’s parent firm, Meta, at the Competition Appeal Tribunal.

The suit accuses the technology giant of abusing its market dominance, and seeks a minimum of £2.3 billion ($3.16bn) in damages.

The legal action states Facebook used its dominant position to force users to agree to terms and conditions that allowed it to generate billions in revenues from their data, while users received no monetary returns, which the claim calls an “unfair deal”.

The claim – the first of its kind against Meta in the UK – will seek financial redress for Facebook users in the UK between October 1 2015 and December 31, 2019, who used the site at least once.

That is thought to be more than 44 million people.

It states that between 2015 and 2019, Facebook collected data from its own platform and outside using mechanisms such as Facebook Pixel, an advertising tool that can be used by third-party websites to monitor how users act on their site.

The action claims that Facebook was able to impose terms and conditions on UK users that enabled this data gathering because of its market dominance.

Yet there was a dark side to Facebook – it abused its market dominance to impose unfair terms and conditions on ordinary Britons
Dr Liza Lovdahl Gormsen

“In the 17 years since it was created, Facebook became the sole social network in the UK where you could be sure to connect with friends and family in one place," Dr Lovdahl Gormsen said.

“Yet there was a dark side to Facebook. It abused its market dominance to impose unfair terms and conditions on ordinary Britons, giving it the power to exploit their personal data.

“I’m launching this case to secure billions of pounds of damages for the 44 million Britons who had their data exploited by Facebook.”

In response, a Meta spokesman said: “People access our service for free.

“They choose our services because we deliver value for them and they have meaningful control of what information they share on Meta’s platforms and who with.

“We have invested heavily to create tools that allow them to do so.”

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T20 World Cup Qualifier fixtures

Tuesday, October 29

Qualifier one, 2.10pm – Netherlands v UAE

Qualifier two, 7.30pm – Namibia v Oman

Wednesday, October 30

Qualifier three, 2.10pm – Scotland v loser of qualifier one

Qualifier four, 7.30pm – Hong Kong v loser of qualifier two

Thursday, October 31

Fifth-place playoff, 2.10pm – winner of qualifier three v winner of qualifier four

Friday, November 1

Semi-final one, 2.10pm – Ireland v winner of qualifier one

Semi-final two, 7.30pm – PNG v winner of qualifier two

Saturday, November 2

Third-place playoff, 2.10pm

Final, 7.30pm

Company profile

Name: Back to Games and Boardgame Space

Started: Back to Games (2015); Boardgame Space (Mark Azzam became co-founder in 2017)

Founder: Back to Games (Mr Azzam); Boardgame Space (Mr Azzam and Feras Al Bastaki)

Based: Dubai and Abu Dhabi 

Industry: Back to Games (retail); Boardgame Space (wholesale and distribution) 

Funding: Back to Games: self-funded by Mr Azzam with Dh1.3 million; Mr Azzam invested Dh250,000 in Boardgame Space  

Growth: Back to Games: from 300 products in 2015 to 7,000 in 2019; Boardgame Space: from 34 games in 2017 to 3,500 in 2019

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Updated: January 14, 2022, 12:01 AM