The EU Commission on Thursday fined US tech giant Meta 797.7 million euros ($840.2 million) for violating EU antitrust laws.
The Commission said Meta used methods that favoured Facebook Marketplace. In addition to Facebook’s social media platform, Meta also owns Instagram and messaging service WhatsApp. The European Commission said:
The European Commission has fined Meta … for breaching EU antitrust rules by tying its online classified ads service Facebook Marketplace to its personal social network Facebook and by imposing unfair trading conditions on other online classified ads service providers.
The Commission said Facebook Marketplace enjoyed a “significant distribution advantage that competitors cannot match” due to its tie-up with the social media platform. It also added:
All Facebook users automatically have access and get regularly exposed to Facebook Marketplace whether they want it or not.
It said Meta was imposing unfair terms on competitors who chose to advertise on Facebook Instagram, allowing it to “use ad-related data generated by other advertisers solely for the benefit of Facebook Marketplace.”
Meta responded by saying the EU had provided no evidence of harm to competitors or consumers, and promised to appeal the decision. The company said:
Facebook users can choose whether or not to engage with Marketplace, and many don’t. The reality is that people use Facebook Marketplace because they want to, not because they have to. It is disappointing that the Commission has chosen to take regulatory action against a free and innovative service built to meet consumer demand.
However, Meta said it will comply with the decision shortly and will work quickly and constructively to launch a solution that addresses the issues raised.
The EU antitrust investigation into Meta was launched in 2019 over allegations from competitors that Facebook was abusing its dominant position by offering free services and profiting from data collection. Meta representatives claimed that their products were fully compliant with the EU’s Digital Markets Act.
