Meta fined 798 million euros ($846m) for breaking EU antitrust rules

EU says Meta automatically ties its advertisement work – Facebook Marketplace – to Facebook, creating an unfair advantage.

The European Union has deed exertion elephantine Meta pinch a good conscionable awkward of 800 cardinal euros for what it called “abusive practices” involving its Facebook Marketplace online classified ads business.

The EU’s European Commission issued nan good of  797.72 cardinal euros ($846.13m) connected Thursday. It accused Meta, which owns societal media level Facebook, of marketplace practices that springiness its ain advertisement work an undue advantage complete competitors.

The advantage stems from Meta automatically tying its advertisement work – Facebook Marketplace – to Facebook, creating a “substantial distribution advantage”, according to nan commission.

“All Facebook users automatically person entree and get regularly exposed to Facebook Marketplace whether they want it aliases not,” it said.

Additionally, it said Meta imposed unfair conditions connected different classified ads work providers who advertised connected Facebook and Instagram, enabling it to “use ads-related information generated by different advertisers for nan sole use of Facebook Marketplace”.

Meta contended it did not “use advertisers’ information for this purpose” and has “built systems and controls to guarantee that”.

“It is disappointing that nan Commission has chosen to return regulatory action against a free and innovative work built to meet user demand,” said Meta, adding it would comply pinch nan commission’s bid to extremity nan offending behaviour but besides appeal.

The good is nan latest successful a string of hefty penalties that nan commission, which regulates nan 27-nation European Union, has imposed against Big Tech companies complete their practices successful caller years. It ranks among nan 10 largest antitrust fines.

The punishment takes into relationship nan “duration and gravity of nan infringement”, arsenic good arsenic nan turnover of Meta and Facebook Marketplace, said nan commission.

Meta’s full gross past twelvemonth stood astatine astir 125 cardinal euros ($133bn).

Meta’s ascendant position successful nan marketplace for individual societal networks comes pinch a typical work not to maltreatment it by restricting competition, according to nan EU.

Source

:

Al Jazeera and news agencies