The judges said the U.S. group copied their 'Nearby' feature from Italy's Business Competence's app 'Faround', which allows users to identify shops, clubs, restaurants in their surrounding area through geolocalisation.

The court's decision upheld a 2019 ruling but increased the amount of damages that Facebook will have to pay, initially set at 350,000 euros.

"We have received the court's decision and are examining it carefully," a Facebook spokesman told Reuters.

($1 = 0.8155 euros)

(Reporting by Alfredo Faieta and Elvira Pollina; writing by Francesca Landini, editing by Giulia Segreti)