Zuckerberg meets Virkunnen – Facebook class action lawsuit underway in Germany
Join the Facebook class action lawsuit now (German residents only)!
Dear friends!
This meeting is a big one. Today, Henna Virkunnen, Vice-President of the European Commission for Technical Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, meets wth Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, in the United States.
After the €200 million fine for Facebook’s anti-competitive practices in April, the company raged and repeated the old and false claim that the EU would restrict freedom of expression with its digital rules in the DSA, DMA and other regulations. Yet it is precisely the Meta corporation, with Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram, that deliberately hinders competitors and thus restricts citizens’ freedom to choose freely in a fair market.
The meeting comes just as a class action lawsuit against Facebook is gaining momentum in Germany, with damages of up to 600 euros per person.
The background to this is yet another fine against Facebook, this time amounting to €265 million, which the company had to pay because it failed to adequately protect user data, allowing personal data to be stolen.
The affected users will not receive any of this fine for the time being. However, it opens up the possibility of a model case lawsuit, which could result in damages of up to €600 per person.
The German Federal Association of Consumer Organisations (vzbv) has now launched such a class action lawsuit and is calling on everyone to participate. All information, a lawsuit check (only permanent residents in Germany can take part, regardless of nationality) and more can be found here: http://www.sammelklagen.de/verfahren/facebook
The regular fines show that breaking the law is part of Facebook and Meta’s business model and is factored into their prices.
Even if the penalties sound severe, they hardly make a dent in Meta’s bottom line, and the company simply carries on as before.
That is why I call on Henna Virkunnen: Do not make any concessions to Zuckerberg today. Our EU digital laws are a sharp sword against digital corporations whose business model prioritises hate, incitement and disinformation over information, thereby targeting one democracy after another.
Tech bros like Zuckerberg, Musk and Co. only understand one thing: strength. Namely, the strength of the largest single market that defends its laws and does not cave in.
What can you do?
Check directly whether you can join the class action lawsuit and show that our laws also apply to tech bros: http://www.sammelklagen.de/verfahren/facebook
If you don’t live in Germany and can’t participate, do share it with friends and contacts in Germany!
With determined regards,
Alexandra Geese
–
P.S.: Some good news that gives cause for hope: It has just been announced that the EU Commission has determined that TikTok is violating EU law. This is also extremely important in view of the elections in Romania – even if it is far too late. The damage has already been done. This also shows that our pressure is working, but it needs to grow.