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Meta has been fined \u20ac798m (\u00a3664m) for breaking competition law by embedding Facebook Marketplace within its social network.<\/p>\n
The European Commission said this meant alternative classified ads services had faced “unfair trading conditions”, making it harder for them to compete.<\/p>\n
In addition to the fine, it has ordered Meta to stop imposing these conditions on other services. <\/p>\n
Meta said it rejected the Commission’s findings and would appeal.<\/p>\n
EU antitrust head Margrethe Vestager said Facebook had impeded other online classified ads service providers.<\/p>\n
“It did so to benefit its own service Facebook Marketplace, thereby giving it advantages that other online classified ads service providers could not match,” she added,<\/p>\n
She said Meta “must stop this behaviour”, with the EU asking the firm to “refrain from repeating” the infringement.<\/p>\n
Meta said the Commission had provided “no evidence” of harm either to competitors or consumers.<\/p>\n
“This decision ignores the market realities, and will only serve to protect incumbent marketplaces from competition.”<\/p>\n
The ruling is the result of an investigation which the Commission opened in 2021, after Meta’s rivals complained that Facebook Marketplace gave it an unfair advantage. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Meta has not previously faced a fine from the EU over competition rules – though it was told to pay \u20ac110m in 2017 for not handing over correct information when it purchased WhatsApp.<\/p>\n
The Irish Data Protection Commissioner has also previously fined Meta more than \u20ac1bn over mishandling people’s data when transferring it between Europe and the United States.<\/p>\n
And it also had to pay a comparatively tiny \u00a350m in 2021, when the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) accused it of deliberately breaking rules over its attempt to acquire Gif-maker Giphy – and ultimately demanded it sell the company altogether.<\/p>\n
The decision comes as regulators are taking a firmer stance with big tech companies worldwide, with the US government considering a breakup of Google.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n