The European Commission has imposed a fine of €797.72 million on Meta. The company violated EU antitrust rules by linking its online classifieds service Facebook Marketplace to its social network Facebook and imposing unfair trading conditions on other providers of online classifieds services.
Facebook Marketplace causes trouble
In June 2021, the Commission opened a formal investigation into possible anti-competitive behavior by Facebook. In December 2022, the Commission sent a statement of objections to Meta, to which the company replied in June 2023.
The Commission's investigation has shown that Meta holds a dominant position on the market for personal social networks, which covers at least the European Economic Area (EEA), as well as on the national markets for online display advertising on social media.
Specifically, the Commission found that Meta had abused its dominant position and thus violated Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). Article 102 TFEU and Article 54 of the EEA Agreement prohibit the abuse of a dominant position.
A dominant market position is not generally prohibited under EU antitrust law. However, dominant companies have a particular responsibility, as they must not abuse their strong market position by restricting competition in the dominated market or in other markets.
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Meta abuses its strong market position in the EU
Following the investigation, the EU Commission accuses Meta of the following abuse:
- linking its online classifieds service Facebook Marketplace with its personal social network Facebook: Through this link, all Facebook users automatically have access to Facebook Marketplace, which is regularly displayed to them - whether they want it or not. The Commission found that competitors of Facebook Marketplace could be excluded from the market in this way, as Facebook Marketplace gains a significant distribution advantage through the link that other providers cannot offset.
- Unilaterally imposing unfair terms of trade on other online classifieds service providers advertising on Meta's platforms, in particular on the very popular social networks Facebook and Instagram: This allows Meta to use the advertising data generated by other advertisers exclusively for the benefit of Facebook Marketplace.
Meta must pay a fine of 797.72 million euros
The Commission ordered Meta to effectively cease such conduct and to refrain from repeating such abusive conduct or engaging in conduct with a similar purpose or effect in the future.
The fine of EUR 797.72 million was set on the basis of the Commission's 2006 guidelines on setting fines.
In setting the fine, the duration and gravity of the infringement and the turnover of Facebook Marketplace in relation to the infringement were taken into account, on the basis of which the basic amount is determined. The Commission also took into account Meta's total turnover to ensure that the fine has a sufficiently deterrent effect on a company with such large resources as Meta.
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