Last month, Meta paused such data usage in the EU following complaints. Credit: kovop/Shutterstock.

Spanish prosecutors are probing Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, over allegations of breaching data protection laws, reported the Economic Times. 

The inquiry focuses on the use of user data for training its artificial intelligence (AI) services within the European Union.  

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In a statement, Spanish main national court’s state prosecutors said they had received numerous complaints from users. 

The users said that “information shared in its products and services… is going to be used by Meta to develop and improve its AI”, the statement said. 

In June 2024, Meta paused such data usage in the EU following complaints from multiple countries. 

The prosecutors aim to safeguard the users’ personal data and are in consultation with the Spanish data protection authority to discuss potential measures. 

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This development comes as the European Commission prepares to charge major tech companies Apple and Meta for non-compliance with the Digital Markets Act (DMA).  

The DMA seeks to limit the power of Big Tech and promote fair competition.  

Apple and Meta, which have been under scrutiny since March 2024, could face preliminary findings by August, with a final decision expected in November. 

Apple is anticipated to be the first to be charged, with Meta to follow.  

The investigations are part of the Commission’s broader efforts to enforce the DMA, which includes examining Meta’s new subscription model for ad-free services on Facebook and Instagram. 

In a separate case, NVIDIA is also on the brink of being charged by the French antitrust regulator for possible anti-competitive practices.  

A French report highlighted concerns about the industry’s dependence on NVIDIA’s CUDA programming software and its investments in AI-focused cloud service providers, which could potentially hinder competition.