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The payout would apply to people who used co-founder Mark Zuckerberg's site at least once during this period - which is thought to be more than 44million people.

What does the lawsuit against Facebook say? 

The lawsuit alleges Facebook made billions of pounds by imposing unfair terms and conditions that demanded consumers surrender valuable personal data to access the network.

It argues that Facebook collected data both within its own platform and outside using mechanisms such as Facebook Pixel, an advertising tool used by third-party websites to monitor how users act on their site. 

The claim will seek financial redress for Facebook users in the UK between October 1 2015 and December 31 2019, who used the site at least once during this period - which is thought to be more than 44million people.

It claims Facebook was able to impose terms and conditions on UK users which enabled this data gathering because of its market dominance.

It argues that, between 2015 and 2019, Facebook collected data both within its own platform and outside using mechanisms such as Facebook Pixel.

Pixel is an advertising tool that can be used by third-party websites to monitor how users act on their site.

The action claims that Facebook was able to impose terms and conditions on UK users which enabled this data gathering because of its market dominance.

Dr Lovdahl Gormsen said: 'In the 17 years since it was created, Facebook became the sole social network in the UK where you could be sure to connect with friends and family in one place.

'Yet there was a dark side to Facebook - it abused its market dominance to impose unfair terms and conditions on ordinary Britons, giving it the power to exploit their personal data.

'I'm launching this case to secure billions of pounds of damages for the 44 million Britons who had their data exploited by Facebook.'

Dr Lovdahl Gormsen is a senior adviser to Britain's Financial Conduct Authority - and the law firm representing her, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, has notified Facebook of the claim.

Opt-out class actions, like Dr Lovdahl Gormsen's, bind a defined group automatically into a lawsuit unless individuals opt out.

The claim is being brought in London under the Consumer Act 2015.

In response, a Meta spokesman said: 'People access our service for free.

'They choose our services because we deliver value for them and they have meaningful control of what information they share on Meta's platforms and who with.

'We have invested heavily to create tools that allow them to do so.'

The case comes days after Facebook lost an attempt to strike out an antitrust lawsuit in the US by the Federal Trade Commission.

It was one of the biggest challenges by the US government against a tech company in decades as Washington attempts to tackle Big Tech's extensive market power.