Meta has to fill the European coffers with 797.72 million euros. The fine is a response to Meta’s violations of European antitrust law.

The European Commission imposed a fine of 797.72 million euros on Meta. This fine is the result of a case that has been ongoing since 2021 and concerns the way in which Meta links various services due to its dominant market position.

Specifically, the Commission assumes that Meta wrongly creates an automatic connection between the social network Facebook and the second-hand marketplace Facebook Marketplace. Anyone with a Facebook account will automatically be exposed to the marketplace, regardless of whether they are interested or not. Services that want to compete with the Facebook Marketplace are at a significant disadvantage.

In addition, the Commission finds that Meta imposes unfair conditions on other second-hand advertising providers wishing to advertise on Facebook and Instagram. Meta can use the data from such advertisements to boost its own Facebook Marketplace. The company denies that this is actually happening.

Illegal

Both practices are illegal under European antitrust law, the Commission states. Meta uses the dominant position of its social network to strengthen its website to sell used goods at the expense of alternatives. Not only do these third-party alternatives not get enough access to Meta’s social networks, but their access can also be abused to re-power the marketplace.

The European Commission requires Meta to immediately stop the practices and not to repeat them. The fine of 797.72 euros was set taking into account both the duration and severity of the violation.

Profession

Meta has already announced that it will appeal. Mark Zuckerberg’s company has made a habit of interpreting European rules itself and then fighting for its rights to the end. In this case, Meta claims that the marketplace was created at the request of the market and that the European Commission does not prove that competitors are harmed by the close relationship between Facebook and the marketplace. Meta will adhere to the rules as quickly as possible in the appeal process and announce that the Facebook marketplace will continue to exist.