EU court adviser rejects Meta's fight against EU antitrust demands for Facebook data


FILE PHOTO: Teenagers pose for a photo while holding smartphones in front of a Meta logo in this illustration taken September 11, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

BRUSSELS, Feb 26 (Reuters) - ⁠An adviser to Europe's top court ⁠on Thursday backed Meta Platforms' fight against ‌EU antitrust regulators over what the U.S. tech giant said were aberrant requests for information from the ​later during two investigations into ⁠the company.

Meta had taken ⁠its case to the Luxembourg-based Court of Justice ⁠of ‌the European Union, questioning EU demands related to its Facebook social ⁠network and online classified ads.

"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 in ⁠a statement, adding that Rantos ​said in his non-binding opinion that the General Court "did not err in law in assessing the ⁠necessity of the information requested or in examining the safeguards for its provision."

Judges, who usually follow the majority of such recommendations, ​will rule in the coming ⁠months.

The cases are C-496/23 P Meta Platforms ​Ireland v Commission (Facebook Marketplace) and ‌C-497/23 P Meta Platforms ​Ireland v Commission (Facebook Data).

(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee, Editing by Charlotte Van Campenhout)

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