EU investigates whether Facebook hindered competition with V&A data

The European Commission launches a competition investigation into Facebook. The investigation aims to clarify whether Facebook has collected data from advertisers and misused this data to gain an advantage over competitors with its free Marketplace.

Gaining a competitive advantage by using data from the advertisers on its platform could violate European competition rules, the European Commission said. Research concerns so-called classified ads, such as supply and demand advertisements. Facebook has a Marketplace service for these types of ads, and the data allows the company to target specific groups with ads very precisely.

In addition to collecting and using the data for anti-competitive behavior, the EU is investigating whether Facebook has violated competition rules by linking its Marketplace for ads to its social network. There were already rumors that the EU was launching an investigation.

Margrethe Vestager, European Commissioner for Competition, says: “Facebook collects large amounts of data about the activities of users of its social network and beyond. Authorities will examine in detail whether this data gives Facebook an undue competitive advantage, especially in the classified ads sector. , where people buy and sell products every day.”

Facebook reports in a statement to Bloomberg, among others, that it will cooperate in the investigation “to show that there is no ground”.