It also said that users had “insufficient procedural guarantees” when Meta imposed such measures. Meta’s decision also violated the EU’s data protection regime, the GDPR.
“A first victory against Big Tech,” Vandendriessche said on X, adding he would do his utmost to “restore freedom of expression on social media.”
Vandendriessche is virtually certain to return to the Parliament as head of Vlaams Belang’s list for the EU election.
Meta imposed the shadowban because Vandendriessche had posted content that violated Facebook’s terms of use, such as hateful language, according to the ruling.
Meta must compensate Vandendriessche for the advertising costs he had to incur to compensate for the ban, amounting to €27,279. It also has to pay €500 in reputational damages.
Meta did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication.
