The The European Union has imposed a large fine on Metaof almost 798 million euros (797.72 million) for harming the competition of its Facebook Marketplace classified advertising service. The European Commission has decided that the company has linked said service to its social network Facebook, which violates the rules of its antitrust laws and harms competing companies and services of Marketplace.
This means that all Facebook users automatically have access to the Marketplace, and whether they want to or not, they are regularly exposed to the ads that appear there. According to what the commission has discovered, the competitors of this service may be overshadowed, since this automatic access gives the Marketplace a notable distribution advantage, which competitors cannot match.
In addition to imposing a fine on Meta, the authorities in charge of competition surveillance in the EU have ordered Meta to cease its practices of linking Marketplace to its social network, in addition to prohibiting it from imposing unfair commercial conditions on sales platforms. of rival second-hand products.
The decision comes after an investigation into the methods Meta uses to take advantage of its billions of users by harming its rivals in various fields. Those in charge of it have said in this case that the company has also used data from rival platforms that advertised on Facebook to boost its article selling platform services.
Meta is expected to appeal the decision in court, beginning a process that could last several years. The company alleges that the sanction “ignores the realities of the vibrant European market«, in addition to «protect large active companies«. But the EU does not share his vision.
The Head of Competition of the European Union, Commissioner Margrethe Vestagerhas stressed that «Meta linked its online classifieds service Facebook Marketplace to its social network Facebook, and imposed unfair trading conditions on other online classifieds service providers. He did it to benefit his Facebook Marketplace service«.
The fine to Meta will be one of the last decisions and measures taken Vestager, who will leave his position before the end of 2024. Without a doubt, Silicon Valley will welcome his departure, since he has been one of the most critical voices of big technology companies in the European Union in recent years. Vestager will therefore leave this fine to Meta as the last in a series of sanctions that it has imposed on technology companies, which together add up to billions of euros.
