Nearly $4 billion class-action against Facebook parent Meta halted in UK

A British tribunal rejected the suit against Facebook, but gave would-be claimants another six months to try again

A class-action lawsuit in the U.K. seeking $3.7 billion from Facebook parent company Meta Platforms was rejected by a British tribunal on Monday, but the social media giant may not be totally out of the dark, yet.

Facebook parent-company Meta

A UK competition tribunal has rejected a class action lawsuit against Facebook parent Meta, but agreed to allow the plaintiffs six months to regroup and try again. (Reuters/Dado Ruvic/Illustration / Reuters Photos)

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The U.K.'s Competition Appeal Tribunal denied the suit brought by Dr. Liza Lovdahl Gormsen, who accused Facebook of violating the country's laws by allegedly exploiting its dominant position and taking advantage of users by monetizing their data without compensation.

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However, the panel granted Gormsen and other would-be plaintiffs more time to regroup and try to provide evidence that Meta users allegedly incurred losses.

The logo for Meta, the parent company of Facebook

Meta's logo can be seen on a sign at the company's headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif., Nov. 9, 2022.  (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez / AP Newsroom)

"The Tribunal proposes to stay the CPO Application for a period of six months to enable the (proposed class representative) to file additional evidence setting out a new and better blueprint for the effective trial of the proceedings," the tribunal wrote in its decision. 

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"Absent a new and better blueprint, the Tribunal will lift the stay and reject the CPO Application," it read. "If a new and better blueprint is produced, the Tribunal will give appropriate directions for the determination of the renewed application."

Mark Zuckerberg

 Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg speaks on October 25, 2019 in New York City.  (Drew Angerer/Getty Images / Getty Images)

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A Meta spokesperson told Reuters the company welcomed the U.K. tribunal's decision, and re-upped an earlier statement saying the lawsuit is "entirely without merit."

Reuters contributed to this report.