Signage is seen at the United States Department of Labor headquarters in Washington, D.C., U.S., August 29, 2020. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly
An adviser to Europe’s top court on Thursday supported European Union antitrust regulators in a legal dispute with Meta Platforms, recommending the dismissal of the company’s appeals against requests for information made during investigations into its businesses.
Meta had challenged the requests before the Court of Justice of the European Union, arguing that EU regulators had made excessive or abnormal demands for data as part of probes linked to its Facebook social network and online classified advertising services.
In a statement, the court said Advocate General Athanasios Rantos advised the court to side with regulators.
“In his opinion, Advocate General Athanasios Rantos proposes that the Court of Justice dismiss both appeals and uphold the judgments of the General Court,” the court said.
The statement added that Rantos concluded that the lower court had acted properly in its legal assessment.
“The General Court did not err in law in assessing the necessity of the information requested or in examining the safeguards for its provision,” he said in the non-binding opinion.
Although the advocate general’s opinion is not binding, judges at the Court of Justice — based in Luxembourg — often follow such recommendations. A final ruling in the cases is expected in the coming months.
The dispute stems from two separate appeals brought by Meta’s Irish unit challenging European Commission information requests tied to competition investigations.
The cases are Meta Platforms Ireland v Commission (Facebook Marketplace) and Meta Platforms Ireland v Commission (Facebook Data).
Boluwatife Enome
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