On Thursday, a legal adviser from Europe’s foremost court backed the European Union’s antitrust authorities in their legal clash with Meta Platforms, suggesting that the court dismiss the company's appeals regarding information requests made during probes into its operations.
Meta had contested these requests in front of the Court of Justice of the European Union, claiming that EU regulators imposed excessive and unreasonable demands for data related to its Facebook social platform and online classified advertising.
In a statement released by the court, Advocate General Athanasios Rantos recommended that the court align with the regulators' stance.
"In his opinion, Advocate General Athanasios Rantos advises the Court of Justice to reject both appeals and affirm the decisions of the General Court," the statement revealed.
Rantos asserted that the lower court had made the appropriate legal evaluations.
"The General Court did not misinterpret the law regarding the requirement for the requested information nor the examination of safeguards surrounding its provision," he noted in his non-binding opinion.
The advisor's recommendations, while not obligatory, are typically influential, as Luxembourg's Court of Justice often adheres to such guidance. A definitive ruling is anticipated in the upcoming months.
This legal contention arises from two distinct appeals filed by Meta's Irish subsidiary, challenging information requests from the European Commission linked to competition probes.
The cases are formally identified as Meta Platforms Ireland v Commission (Facebook Marketplace) and Meta Platforms Ireland v Commission (Facebook Data).
Comments (0)
You must be logged in to comment.
Be the first to comment on this article!