On this week's episode of The MadTech Podcast, ExchangeWire's editorial lead Mariam Ahmad and head of research Mat Broughton join head of content John Still to discuss Meta facing a $600M competition damages claim in Spain; Thread's potential in carving out a niche as advertisers desert X; and Spotify's mass layoffs.

Meta faces $600M competition damages claim in Spain as media owners pursue privacy breach lawsuit - (TechCrunch)

Another one? Is this more sabre-rattling? Can this one stick?

Meta is facing a major legal challenge and damages claim in Spain that argues the ad tech giant’s years of failing to have a valid legal basis for processing people’s data for ads under European Union data protection rules also constitutes a competition breach for which they should be compensated financially.

The litigants are seeking more than €550 million (~ £471m) for what they describe as Meta’s “systematic and massive non-compliance” with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

News publishers hesitate to commit to investing more into Threads next year despite growing engagement - (Digiday)

Should brands consider threads? Can it carve a niche as advertisers desert X?

News publishers are cautious to pour more resources into Threads, and don’t seem to have plans to do so in the near future. Due to limited data available to their social and audience development teams, it’s difficult to determine whether investing more into the platform is worth it.

Currently, X still gets about 100 times more web traffic than Threads worldwide and has over 11 times more monthly active mobile users in the US. However, some point out that engagement appears higher on Threads.

Spotify cuts more than 1,500 jobs amid rising costs - (The Guardian)

What does this say about the music industry’s ‘dominant player’?

Amid rising costs, streaming service Spotify has announced it will be laying off 17% of its workforce. The company blames a slowing economy and higher borrowing costs.

Earlier this year, the workforce was already cut back by 6% in January, and another 2% in June.