European Commission Fines Meta

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Commission on Thursday fined Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) €797.72 million ($840.24 million) for abusive practices benefiting Facebook Marketplace, confirming an earlier report by Reuters.

> "The European Commission has fined Meta … for breaching EU antitrust rules by tying its online classified ads service Facebook Marketplace to its personal social network Facebook and by imposing unfair trading conditions on other online classified ads service providers," the European Commission stated.

Meta announced its intention to appeal the decision but emphasized its commitment to comply while quickly working on a solution addressing the raised issues.

The European Commission's action comes two years after it accused the U.S. tech giant of providing an unfair advantage to Facebook Marketplace by bundling it with the Facebook services.

Formal proceedings into potential anticompetitive behavior began in June 2021, with concerns raised in December 2022 about Meta's practices tying its dominant social network to its advertising services.

Facebook introduced Marketplace in 2016, expanding into several European nations in the following year.

The EU's argument states that Meta illegally imposes Facebook Marketplace on users of Facebook, but Meta contends that Facebook users can choose whether to engage with Marketplace, with many opting not to.

The Commission had alleged that Marketplace could hinder the growth of established online marketplaces in the EU but failed to present evidence of harm to competitors.

Fines for EU antitrust violations can reach up to 10% of a company's global turnover.

> ($1 = 0.9494 euros)