A Meta sign at the company headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif., on Oct. 28, 2021.Carlos Barria/Reuters
The European Commission on Thursday fined Meta Platforms META-Q €797.72-million ($840.24-million) over abusive practices benefiting Facebook Marketplace, it said in a statement, confirming an earlier report by Reuters.
Meta said it will appeal the decision, but in the meantime, it will comply and will work quickly and constructively to launch a solution which addresses the points raised.
The European Union opened formal proceedings into possible anticompetitive conduct of Facebook in June, 2021, and in December, 2022, raised concerns that Meta ties its dominant social network Facebook to its online classified ad services.
Facebook launched Marketplace in 2016 and expanded into several European countries a year later.
The EU decision argues that Meta imposes Facebook Marketplace on people who use Facebook in an illegal “tie” but Meta said that argument ignores the fact that Facebook users can choose whether to engage with Marketplace, and many do not.
Meta said the Commission claimed that Marketplace had the potential to hinder the growth of large incumbent online marketplaces in the EU but could not find any evidence of harm to competitors.
Companies risk fines of as much as 10 per cent of their global turnover for EU antitrust violations.
