TLDR Dutch trade group VNLOK filed a lawsuit against Meta at the Amsterdam District Court on September 28. VNLOK says over 90% of gambling ads it reviewed on Facebook came from illegal sites. The group says Meta has broken its duties under the European Digital Services Act. Dutch lawmakers are voting on a motion that could let the Gaming Authority fine platforms that fail to remove illegal ads. VNLOK wants the court ruling to force platforms to stop illegal ads before they appear.
Dutch trade association VNLOK has taken Meta to the Amsterdam District Court. The group accuses the tech company of allowing illegal gambling ads to spread across Facebook and Instagram.
The lawsuit was filed on September 28. It follows months of warnings from the Dutch industry group about the problem.
VNLOK says its own studies found that over 90% of gambling ads reviewed on Facebook came from illegal sites. Only a small share of those ads were removed, and often too late to stop Dutch users from seeing them.
VNLOK Says Meta Did Not Cooperate
Chairman Björn Fuchs said the group had asked Meta many times to work on a lasting fix. He said there was little progress.
“We have repeatedly pointed out the extent of the problem to Meta and asked it to structurally cooperate in finding a solution. That has not yielded sufficient results. That is why we are now submitting the case to the Dutch court,” he said.
The lawsuit asks the court to rule that Meta has broken its obligations under the European Digital Services Act. It also asks the court to force Meta to take stronger steps to block illegal gambling ads aimed at Dutch users.
VNLOK says the case is not against social media itself. Instead, it targets the