Almost two years after EU regulators first accused Meta of “abusive practices” that gave the tech giant unfair market advantages, the European Commission has fined Meta €797.7 million (around $840 million). The combination of forcing Facebook users to be exposed to Marketplace and imposing restrictions against third-party classified ads providers on the platform are the two main reasons cited for the fine.
In a statement, the EU’s competition head Margrethe Vestager accused Meta of abusing its dominant position in the social media market “to benefit its own service Facebook Marketplace, thereby giving it advantages that other online classified ads service providers could not match. This is illegal under EU antitrust rules.”
The European Commission has ordered Meta to “bring the conduct effectively to an end,” but didn’t specify what actions should be taken. Meta was also hit with a record-breaking $1.3 billion fine by the EU last year for transferring the Facebook data of EU citizens to the US.
“We will appeal the decision,” Meta announced in response to the ruling. “In the meantime, we will comply, and will work quickly and constructively to launch a solution which addresses the points raised.” In its response, Meta says that the EU’s decision ignores that Facebook users can opt not to engage with the Marketplace service and that the case rests on a “hypothetical potential to harm competition.”
(Originally posted by Jess Weatherbed)