European Commission imposes USD841M fine on Meta for violating EU antitrust laws
Date
11/17/2024 3:20:45 AM
(MENAFN) The European Commission has imposed a significant fine of €797.72 million (USD841 million) on Meta, the parent company of Facebook, for violating EU antitrust laws. The Commission accused Meta of unfairly promoting its online classified ads service, facebook Marketplace, by directly integrating it into the main Facebook app, thereby giving it an unfair competitive advantage. This integration automatically provided all Facebook users with access to Facebook Marketplace, making it harder for rival online classified ad services to compete, as these competitors lacked the same user reach.
In addition to the unfair integration of Marketplace into the Facebook app, the Commission highlighted Meta's imposition of "unfair trading conditions" on other classified ad providers. By using data from ads posted on Facebook and Instagram, Meta further strengthened its position by leveraging this information exclusively for Facebook Marketplace, making it even more challenging for competitors to gain traction in the market.
The European Commission concluded that these actions created significant barriers to competition, stifling the ability of other online classified ad services to compete on equal terms. Alongside the hefty fine, the Commission has ordered Meta to cease these practices immediately and refrain from engaging in similar anti-competitive behavior in the future.
This decision underscores the EU's ongoing scrutiny of major tech firms and their market dominance, with Meta being the latest to face penalties for breaching competition rules.
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