In a setback for the social media giant, Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) has lost its fight in a European Union (EU) Court over a German antitrust order back in 2019 that had ordered Facebook to change how it tracked its users’ data, according to a Bloomberg report.
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The EU’s Court of Justice ruled that Germany’s Federal Cartel Office didn’t abuse its powers back in 2019 when it gave this order. The German antitrust regulator’s ruling was followed by a sweeping antitrust inquiry that looked into META’s alleged violations of Europe’s strict data protection rules.
Andreas Mundt, head of the Federal Cartel Office told Bloomberg, “The judgment will have far-reaching effects on the business models of the data economy. Data is a decisive factor in establishing market power. The use of personal data of consumers by large internet companies can be abusive under antitrust law.”
META is facing a tough time in the EU from antitrust investigations to data protection probes. Back in May, the company was fined $1.3 billion by the EU for data privacy violations.
Even with META’s mounting troubles in the EU, overall, analysts are bullish about META stock with a Strong Buy consensus rating based on 36 Buys and four Holds.
