Meta refused permission to appeal against £2.1bn class action claim

The UK court of appeal has denied Meta permission to appeal a claim over the exploitation of data from 46m Facebook users

The UK Court of Appeal has declined to grant permission to Meta to appeal the competition court’s decision that gave the green light for the £2.1 billion compensation claim to go to trial.

Dr Liza Lovdahl Gormsen, an expert in international competition law, accuses Meta of abusing its dominant position to exploit the personal data of the 46 million UK users who have signed up to the social network. Speaking to Consumer Voice, Liza said:

‘Meta has come to the end of the road with its delay tactics and we can now get on with the job of proceeding to full trial – which gets us a step closer to tackling Meta’s abuse of dominance in the form of exploitation of Facebook users’ data.’ 

The Competition Appeal Tribunal gave the go-ahead to the consumer legal action against Facebook owner Meta in February. 

Meta applied for permission to appeal in March, which was refused by the Tribunal in April, which is when it took its application to the Court of Appeal.

The claim is expected to go to trial before the Competition Appeal Tribunal in 2026.The case is expected to go to trial in early 2026.

Meta sued for exploiting Facebook users

Liza, along with law firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, argue that Meta has abused its market dominance to impose unfair terms and conditions on users. 

‘Consumers are signing up to complex terms and conditions without truly understanding what they’re signing up to,’ said Liza.

She argues that this is giving Meta the power to exploit users’ personal data outside of Facebook. She says: ‘Facebook users are clicking to accept terms and conditions that are highly exploitative.’

‘Consumers are unknowingly giving away a highly valuable asset – their data – in exchange for “free” social media use.’ This essentially leaves consumers paying a high price for the use of Meta’s social media platforms.

Liza says Meta has abused its market dominance – in breach of EU and UK competition laws – by extracting data from consumers without paying, which has enabled the social media giant to generate excessive profits.

She is aiming to compensate the 46 million Facebook users who have been unfairly exploited.

How does Facebook use your personal information

Meta uses information about what you do on Facebook and other Meta platforms, including Instagram, to show to adverts that it thinks you’ll be most interested in.

It also uses information about what you do off Facebook – when you’re on non-Facebook websites and apps. For example, if you visit an online shopping website, it might then show you a clothing ad from that website when you’re using Facebook.

It may also allow advertisers to target you based on the information you provide in your profiles – including your relationship status, your employer, your job title and your education.

It can also target your friends based on your likes, follows, comments, shares, app usage, check-ins, recommendations and events that you’ve joined on Facebook. For instance, it can let your friends know when you’ve liked a page running an ad.

But this isn’t obvious when you sign up to Facebook and reading the fine print is simply not a priority for most people. 

‘Can you blame them?’, asks Liza.

‘I have read Facebook’s terms and conditions – and it took me a whole week.’

‘It may on the surface look like 10 pages – which, by the way, isn’t what most people would read either – but each page then links off to other pages.’

‘You click these links and then there are more. It’s entirely unrealistic to expect most normal people to read them.’

How to take control of how Facebook uses your data

If you’re game for the challenge, there are ways you can take control over how Facebook uses your data. 

Here are a few step-by-step tips on understanding and protecting your personal information on Facebook include:

1. Review Facebook’s privacy settings and controls. Facebook provides options for users to adjust what information is shared and with whom. Start with Facebook’s Privacy Checkup – a tool you can find under Settings and Privacy. 
2. Be cautious of third-party apps and permissions. When using apps or features on Facebook, be selective about what personal data you allow the app to access. Limit permissions to only what is necessary.
3. Understand Facebook’s data collection and use. As Liza said, Facebook’s terms of service and data policies are complex. Make an effort to understand how your information is being collected and used, even if it’s not easy.
4. Consider opting out of data sharing. Liza says the opt-out process is not straightforward. She’s not wrong. I found at least three places where you can change your privacy settings. You need to go to the Accounts Centre to manage your ‘off-Facebook’ activity, the Default Audience settings under Settings and Privacy to manage who can see your profile and activity on the platform, and the Privacy Checkup to manage what advertisers can see. 
5. Stay informed on privacy issues. A good start will be signing up to get our newsletter. We’ll keep you updated on Liza’s claim to seek redress for people whose information she says has been exploited by Meta.