In its most recent effort to limit the influence of Big Tech firms, the European Union on Monday accused Facebook parent Meta of violating antitrust laws by stifling competition in the online classifieds sector.
The internet company’s decision to link its online classified ad business, Facebook Marketplace, to Facebook was criticized by the EU’s executive commission in its complaint following an inquiry that was begun last year. Additionally, it worries about Meta’s practice of imposing unfair trading terms on competitors “for its own profit.”
Meta refuted the charges.
Tim Lamb, Meta’s head of EMEA competition, stated in a prepared statement that “the charges presented by the European Commission are without substance.” “We will keep collaborating with regulatory agencies to show that our product innovation is competitive and pro-consumer.”
The business declared that it will investigate the accusations and is fully assisting the Commission’s inquiry.
The top antitrust enforcer for the 27-nation bloc, the commission, claimed that by linking Marketplace to its social network, Facebook users automatically have access to Marketplace “whether they want it or not,” raising concerns that competitors are barred from entering the market because the link gives Marketplace an advantage over them that they can’t match.
According to the commission, Meta also unilaterally imposes unfair business terms on competitors in the online classifieds market that promote their services on Facebook or Instagram. This is accomplished by “unjustified, disproportionate” terms of service that permit Meta to exploit ad-related data produced by rivals for Marketplace’s advantage.
The EU’s competition watchdog said it suspected Facebook of gathering “huge troves of data” on its users’ activities that would enable it to target particular consumer groups when the EU and Britain launched their respective probes into the company’s classified business last year.
If the actions are proven, they would violate EU regulations that forbid “abuse of a dominating market position.”
According to the commission’s initial findings, Meta leads both the national social media marketplaces in the EU as well as online display advertising on these platforms.
If a company violates EU antitrust laws, it may be subject to fines of up to 10% of its annual global revenue. There is no set time limit for concluding the investigation, and businesses may present their arguments either orally or in writing.
