In a dramatic turn of events at the U.K.’s antitrust court, legal luminary Liza Lovdahl Gormsen passionately pressed for the establishment of a groundbreaking collective actions regime. This appeal took center stage during a pivotal hearing determining the fate of a £2.3 billion ($2.9 billion) class action against Meta, leaving 44 million British consumers hanging on the edge of anticipation.
Facebook Users To Certify £2.3B Data Claim: Meta Faces Allegations of Unfair Practices
Gormsen, a lawyer and legal scholar, is making a second attempt at convincing the Competition Appeal Tribunal to certify a claim against Meta. The allegations suggest that Meta, leveraging its market dominance, engaged in the unfair imposition of trading terms and prices on its users.
In a compelling argument, Robert O’Donoghue KC of Brick Court Chambers, representing Gormsen, stressed that the heart of the matter lies in a “monopoly firm using and misusing data belonging to those who otherwise interact with the platform.” He underlined the global significance of addressing this issue in the realm of competition law enforcement.
Data-Driven Quandary: A Warning Against Economic Exclusion
O’Donoghue didn’t mince words when cautioning that failure to adapt to “data-driven developments” could render sections of the economy “off limits” to competition law. The collective actions regime, he asserted, holds paramount importance for users with virtually no chance of standing against behemoths like Meta, one of the world’s largest and most profitable companies.
