On November 14, EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said that by linking Facebook to Marketplace, Meta had “imposed unfair commercial conditions” on other providers. Meta did so to exploit its Marketplace service, giving it an advantage that others could not match, and this was illegal.
Meta said it would appeal, pointing out that “the European Commission's decision provides no evidence of competitive harm to rivals or any harm to consumers.”
The EU's long-running antitrust investigation into Meta was launched in 2019, following accusations from rivals that the US tech giant was abusing its dominance by offering free services while profiting from the data it collects on its platform.
This is one of the last investigations overseen by Ms. Vestager, who is leaving the committee in the coming weeks after a decade on the job. During her tenure, Ms. Vestager has repeatedly targeted the world’s largest technology companies: Apple, Google and Microsoft.
Facebook Marketplace, launched in 2016, is a popular platform for buying and selling used items, especially household items like furniture.
Meta is facing billions of dollars in fines in Europe for a series of violations in recent years. The EU announced the penalty against Meta amid a transition of power in the US and Europe.
Over the past five years, regulators in the European Union have passed landmark legislation called the Digital Markets Act – aimed at reining in Big Tech and boosting the local tech industry.
