European Union Ready to Fine Meta for Giving Marketplace an Unfair Advantage

According to media reports, Meta could be fined up to $13.4 billion – equivalent to 10% of its global revenue in 2023 – for linking Facebook and Marketplace.

Since December 2022, the European Commission (EC) has highlighted two business practices of Meta that are believed to violate antitrust regulations.

Meta faces multiple investigations in the European Union. (Source: Reuters)

First, Facebook automatically gives users access to Marketplace without the option to opt out of the service.

With this conduct, the EC argues, Marketplace has a significant distribution advantage that no competitor can match.

The second issue pointed out by the EC is how Meta deals with Marketplace competitors.

While other services can promote themselves by advertising on Meta platforms like Facebook and Instagram, Meta's terms of service allow it to collect data about these advertising campaigns and then use that data to benefit Marketplace.

According to the EC press release at the time, “if confirmed, these actions would violate Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, which prohibits abuse of a dominant position.”

The EC is likely to announce its decision in September or October, before antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager's term ends.

However, a Meta spokesperson confirmed that the EC's allegations were unfounded and that the company would continue to cooperate with regulators to demonstrate that its products are pro-consumer and pro-competitive.

If Meta is fined for Marketplace, it would be the company's first antitrust penalty in the EU, but it may not be its last, as Mark Zuckerberg's company is facing multiple separate investigations.

On July 1, the EC provisionally determined that Meta violated the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA) due to its user-fee model, in which users pay a monthly fee to avoid data collection and use an ad-free version, or must agree to share personal data for targeted advertising, to continue using the free service.

Meta becomes the second company to be found guilty of violating the EU's DMA, which sets new rules for some of the world's biggest tech companies and helps regulators quickly address anti-competitive behavior.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/lien-minh-chau-au-san-sang-phat-nang-meta-vi-cung-cap-loi-the-khong-cong-bang-cho-cho-marketplace-280502.html