The European Commission penalized Meta, the digital giant that controls Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, €797.72 million (about $840 million) for breaking EU competition laws. Regulations claim that Meta’s integration of Facebook Marketplace with its primary social network platform resulted in “unfair trading conditions” for other online classified ad services, which is the reason for the penalty. After starting in 2021, the lawsuit culminated in a significant ruling in December 2022, when the commission concluded that Meta’s actions gave Facebook Marketplace an unfair competitive edge.
The lead for competition policy at the European Commission, Margrethe Vestager, highlighted how Meta favoured its own classifieds platform by using its dominance in online advertising and social networking. Vestager claims that Meta’s strategy imposed unreasonable terms on other service providers, which is against the EU antitrust laws.
In its announcement of its plan to appeal, Meta argues that the decision fails to take into consideration the competitive online classified advertisement market in Europe, where Marketplace, a newcomer, creatively satisfies customer wants. This new fine joins a slew of significant fines that Meta has already received in Europe, including $100 million for a user security breach in September 2023, over $400 million for privacy violations in January 2023, and over $1 billion for GDPR violations in May 2023. A recent lawsuit in Spain for $600 million damages is just one of the continuous legal issues the corporation is involved in.
Significant changes in regulatory attitudes have occurred in the wake of these penalties and verdicts, which may have been impacted by political changes such as the recent takeover of the legislative and executive branches by the Republican Party in the United States. Experts predict that regulations pertaining to technology, particularly in fields like social media, cybersecurity, and data protection, may soon be re-examined globally, which would have an impact on businesses like Meta.