Meta Faces Potential €12.2 Billion Fine for EU Antitrust Violations

Meta Platforms Inc. is reportedly facing its first European Union antitrust fine for integrating Marketplace with Facebook. According to sources cited by Reuters, the fine could reach up to €12.2 billion, or 10% of Meta’s 2023 global revenue. This follows an 18-month investigation by the European Commission (EC), which issued a statement of objections in December 2022. The EC’s concerns center on how Meta’s business practices in the classified ad market may hinder competition.

The EC identified two main issues that potentially breach antitrust rules. Firstly, Facebook users are automatically given access to Marketplace without an option to opt out, giving Marketplace a significant distribution advantage over competitors. Secondly, Meta’s terms of service allow it to collect data from ad campaigns promoting rival services and use this data to benefit Marketplace, which could be seen as an abuse of its dominant market position.

Meta has consistently denied the allegations, stating that the European Commission’s claims are unfounded. A Meta spokesperson emphasized that the company is cooperating with regulatory authorities to prove that its product innovations are both pro-consumer and pro-competitive.

This potential fine is just one of several antitrust challenges Meta faces in the EU. On July 1, the EC tentatively found that Meta’s subscription offering, launched last year, breached the EU’s Digital Markets Act by not providing a less personalized but equivalent version of its platforms, thus failing to ensure users’ right to freely consent to data collection.