Privacy Group Warns Meta: Stop Using Europeans’ Data or Face Lawsuit

Austrian privacy group NOYB has warned that it will seek a court order to block Meta Platforms (META) from using Europeans’ personal data to train its AI models. On Wednesday, the group sent Meta a cease-and-desist letter as it objected to the company’s plan to start collecting data from European users of Instagram and Facebook on May 27. NOYB, which is led by privacy activist Max Schrems, argues that this move could result in major legal consequences for Meta.

In response, Meta says it is relying on “legitimate interest” under EU privacy laws to justify using personal data for AI training. Indeed, he company claims that it will not use private messages or data from users under 18 and will allow users to object by using a special form. However, Schrems says this legal basis doesn’t hold up and pointed out that the European Court of Justice has already ruled that Meta can’t use “legitimate interest” to target users with ads. Therefore, using it for AI data collection is even less justified.

NOYB said that it may file an injunction under the EU’s Collective Redress law, which allows consumers to take collective legal action. If Meta doesn’t respond by May 21, legal steps may follow. Schrems also raised the possibility of a class action lawsuit, saying if even 400 million users each claimed €500 in damages, the total payout would be massive. Meta disagrees with NOYB’s claims and says it has followed EU guidance and notified users properly. Still, NOYB insists Meta should switch to an opt-in system and use only anonymized data to comply with EU rules.

Is Meta a Buy, Sell, or Hold?

Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on META stock based on 41 Buys, three Holds, and one Sell assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. Furthermore, the average META price target of $691.52 per share implies 4.7% upside potential.

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