Margrethe Vestager (pictured), has imposed a fine of almost 800 million euros on Facebook parent Meta. (archive image)”/>
The EU competition authority, led by Margrethe Vestager (pictured), has imposed a fine of almost 800 million euros on Facebook parent Meta. (archive image)
Keystone
The EU Commission has fined Meta 797.72 million euros because the company is said to have violated competition law. The link between Facebook Marketplace and the social network Facebook is criticized as an unfair advantage over other providers.
Facebook’s parent company, Meta, is facing a significant fine from the EU Commission. The authority accuses the company of violating competition law by linking its classifieds service Facebook Marketplace with the social network Facebook. This practice has imposed unfair trading conditions on other providers of online classified advertising services, said Commissioner Margrethe Vestager in a statement.
The EU Commission argues that by integrating Facebook Marketplace into the social network, all users automatically gained access to this service, regardless of whether they wanted it. This gives Facebook Marketplace an advantage that other providers cannot compensate for and effectively excludes competitors from the market.
Background of the decision
The amount of the penalty of 797.72 million euros was determined taking into account the duration and severity of the violation of EU law. Facebook Marketplace sales also played a role in calculating the fine. The Commission emphasized that Meta’s total turnover was taken into account in order to have a deterrent effect on a company of this size.
Repeated measures against tech giants
This penalty is not the first that the EU Commission has imposed on large American technology companies. Back in March, Apple was fined 1.8 billion euros because the company was accused of abusing its dominant market position in music streaming apps. Google has also received large fines in the past.
In recent years, EU competition watchdogs have increasingly investigated the practices of large tech platforms to ensure that competition in the digital market remains fair. The recent decision against Meta is another example of the strict enforcement of competition rules in the EU.
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