Meta Users Lose Class Status Bid In Social Media Monopoly Suit

Plaintiffs who claim Meta Platforms Inc. deceptively used their personal data to monopolize the social media services market failed to secure class status after a federal judge said they didn’t prove antitrust injury.

Judge James Donato of the US District Court for the Northern District of California in a Jan. 24 order denied the plaintiffs’ motion for class certification and excluded the opinions of their expert witness, economist Nicholas Economides.

The case is among several antitrust suits targeting Meta, formerly Facebook, both by federal officials and private plaintiffs in recent years. The plaintiffs in this case sued Meta in 2020, ...