EU accuses Meta of abuse of power in Marketplace, threatens billions in fines

The European Commission accuses Meta of violating European antitrust laws with the Facebook Marketplace. Competition would be hindered by linking the trading platform to Facebook and applying user conditions that hinder competition.

This means that Meta would specifically violate Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union preliminary conclusion of the European Commission. A fine of up to 10 percent of the annual worldwide turnover can be imposed, which in the case of Meta could result in a fine of more than 11 billion euros. It company mentions the allegations are unfounded and claims to create favorable conditions for both consumers and competitors.

The European Commission claims that Meta violates the relevant law on two counts. On the one hand, Meta would abuse Facebook’s popularity to offer the separate Marketplace service unsolicited to all Facebook users. This would be unfair to competing online marketplaces and other ‘online advertising services’.

In addition, the EU executive body states that other advertising platforms that advertise via, for example, Marketplace, Facebook or Instagram are disadvantaged by Meta’s terms of use. These terms and conditions state in short that Meta may use advertising-related information from competitors for its own gain via the Marketplace. The Commission writes: “[De gebruikersvoorwaarden] are unlawful, excessive and not necessary for operating online advertising services through Meta’s platforms. Such terms hinder competitors and only benefit Facebook Marketplace.”

For the time being, this is a provisional conclusion from the European Commission, which says there is ‘no legal deadline for completing an antitrust investigation’. Therefore, it is not clear how long, if any, Meta has to adapt its practices to comply with European Union requirements.