AMSTERDAM, March 10 (Reuters) – A Dutch appeals court on Tuesday upheld an October ruling requiring Meta Platforms to let Facebook and Instagram users in the Netherlands view posts chronologically, rather than via profiling-based feeds.
Digital rights group Bits of Freedom, which brought the case, had argued in the run-up to a national election that public debate is harmed when users can’t be sure which posts they are seeing and why.
The lower court had found that elements of the design of both platforms were not in line with the European Union’s Digital Services Act.
Meta, which complied with the court’s preliminary ruling, said it would now challenge it in “full scale” proceedings. We “are confident in our compliance with the DSA,” a spokesperson said.
Bits of Freedom welcomed the decision. General Director Evelyn Austin said although the ruling only applies to Dutch users, she hoped it would eventually apply throughout Europe. “We will keep pushing for that,” she said.
(Reporting by Toby SterlingEditing by Bernadette Baum)
