By Tuba Ongun
The European Commission has hit Meta, Facebook’s parent company, with a massive €797.72 million ($841 million) fine for breaking EU antitrust regulations.
According to the commission, Meta unfairly boosted its online classified ads service, Facebook Marketplace, by connecting it directly to the main Facebook app.
It also cited Meta’s imposition of “unfair trading conditions” on other online classified ad providers.
Meta’s flagship social network, Facebook, automatically includes Facebook Marketplace, which lets users buy and sell goods. This setup means all Facebook users get Marketplace access without having to sign up for it, giving Marketplace an unfair advantage over competing services.
The EU said this automatic tie-in makes it harder for other online classified ad services to compete since they do not have the same reach.
The commission also found that Meta put other online ad companies at a disadvantage by using data from their ads on Facebook and Instagram to benefit only Facebook Marketplace. This gave Meta’s service extra leverage over its rivals, making it even tougher for competitors to keep up.
Alongside the fine, the European Commission ordered Meta to stop these practices immediately and avoid similar actions in the future.