The fine is subject to a hearing and Facebook has the right to submit its comments to the authority’s general director, Mijal Halperin, within 60 days, the authority said in a statement.
The authority sent a letter to Facebook after the US firm bought two Israeli companies, RedKix, Inc in 2018 and Service Friend Ltd. in 2019, without obtaining the authority’s go-ahead.
Facebook was required to report these acquisitions to the Competition Authority, as it is a “monopoly” force in the market, with a market share of more than 50 percent, according to the statement.
Under Israel’s Antitrust Law, entities or individuals that own 50% or more of any relevant market, whether declared or not, must obtain the consent of the CEO prior to any merger transaction.
The ICA said that according to an investigation it conducted, Facebook and Instagram are “prima facie” or, at first glance, a “monopoly” force in the market for social media for private users in Israel.
“We are cooperating fully with the investigation by the Israel Competition Authority. We will respond to preliminary assertions by the Authority to show that they are without merit or foundation. There was no obligation to report in relation to these transactions and we believe that the Authority will reach the correct conclusion, ”a Facebook spokesperson said in a text message.
In 2020, Facebook faced another lawsuit also motivated by breach of Israel’s Economic Competition Law in cases of the same nature.
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