The EU says Meta automatically links its advertising service – Facebook Marketplace – to Facebook, giving it an unfair advantage.
The European Union has fined technology giant Meta 800 million euros for “abusive practices” linked to its Facebook Marketplace online classified advertising business.
The EU’s European Commission issued a fine of 797.72 million euros ($846.13m) on Thursday. It accused Meta, which owns social media platform Facebook, of market practices that give its own advertising service an unfair advantage over competitors.
According to the Commission, this profit arises from Meta automatically linking its advertising service – Facebook Marketplace – to Facebook, creating a “substantial distribution advantage”.
It says, “All Facebook users automatically have access to and are regularly exposed to Facebook Marketplace, whether they want it or not.”
Additionally, it said Meta imposed unfair conditions on other classified ad service providers that advertise on Facebook and Instagram, allowing it to “use ad-related data generated by other advertisers for the sole benefit of Facebook Marketplace.” Became capable.
Meta argued that it “did not use advertisers’ data for this purpose” and “has created systems and controls to ensure this does not happen”.
Meta said, “It is disappointing that the Commission has chosen to take regulatory action against a free and innovative service designed to meet consumer demand.” He said he would comply with the commission’s order to end the abusive conduct but would also appeal.
The fine is the latest in a series of hefty fines that the Commission, which regulates the 27-nation European Union, has levied against Big Tech companies in recent years over their practices. It is among the 10 biggest antitrust fines.
The Commission said the fine takes into account “the duration and seriousness of the infringement” as well as the turnover of Meta and Facebook Marketplace.
Meta’s total revenue last year was about 125 billion euros ($133bn).
According to the European Union, Meta’s dominant position in the personal social networks market comes with a special responsibility not to be abused by restricting competition.
