The existence of a strong and healthy media ecosystem is a guarantee of plurality in every advanced society. It constitutes one of the standards that allow democracies to be differentiated from autocracies that aspire to manage the media as they wish. This is how it was in the analog world and this is how it must continue to be in the digital universe into which we have definitively entered. With the intention of defending the existence of a robust and diverse media system, the Information Media Association (AMI)which represents 83 Spanish media outlets, has raised a lawsuit for unfair competition against Meta (the platform on which, among others, Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp depend).
The initiative, in line with others that are underway in various countries, aims to pursue the use of data without consent by digital megaplatforms like Meta. A practice that directly violates European regulations on data protection. The media consider that these data, obtained without consent, cannot be used to develop advertising profiles. The lawsuit demands compensation of 550 million euros taking into account that 100% of Meta’s advertising income is obtained in this way, illegitimately.
This is not only a legitimate defense of the media against the monopoly attitude exercised by Meta. The lawsuit constitutes a defense of the plurality of the media system that interests all citizens, and that is of vital importance for the health of democracy. In today’s world, it is increasingly necessary journalism to differentiate what is true from what is a lie in the overwhelming flow of news that circulate through the networks. This function is not possible without media outlets that are capable of resisting the challenge of digitalization and monetizing the work of their professionals. Something that is impossible as long as Meta and other large platforms maintain a dominant position in advertising. using citizens’ data at the expense of their privacy. It is in this sense that the demand made by the Spanish media is part of the battle for plurality that has already arisen in countries like Australia –which forces these platforms to pay the media for linking their news–, Canada or Irelandwhich recently fined Meta for transferring data obtained without consent in the European Union to the North American market.
Platforms have played a positive role in the expansion of digital information, but they do not constitute the realm of freedom that Mark Zuckerberg or Elon Musk claim. As in many other fields of economic life, Their actions require transparency and regulation. The same to which the media are subjected. Otherwise, they may end up constituting a threat to plurality.