EU Fines Meta Nearly 800 Million Euros Over “Abusive” Marketplace Practices

LONDON — The European Union has fined Meta, the parent company of Facebook, nearly 800 million euros for what it deems “abusive practices” related to its Marketplace platform.

The European Commission issued a hefty 797.72 million euro ($841 million) penalty on Thursday after concluding that Meta had abused its dominant position in the online classifieds market. The fine comes after an extensive investigation into Meta’s business practices, which regulators argue distorted competition.

The Commission accused Meta of unfairly tying its Marketplace service to Facebook, thereby forcing users to be exposed to the platform whether they wanted to use it or not. This, according to the EU, gave Meta an unfair advantage over competitors in the online classified ads market. The investigation also revealed that Meta was imposing unfair terms of service, which allowed the company to use ad-related data collected from competitors on Facebook and Instagram to bolster its own Marketplace business.

Meta has firmly rejected the findings, arguing that the decision does not demonstrate any competitive harm to rivals or consumers. The company has stated that it plans to appeal the ruling and called the penalty unjustified, pointing to the healthy state of the European online classifieds market.

This fine is another significant regulatory setback for Meta, which is already facing scrutiny across multiple jurisdictions over its business practices.( By AP)