On Thursday, the European Union fined online behemoth Meta almost $840 million (800 million euros) for violating antitrust laws by automatically granting Facebook Marketplace customers access to classified ads.
According to the European Commission, the US tech giant allegedly misused its power by putting other online classified ad service providers that run ads on its platforms under unfair trading circumstances.
“This is against EU antitrust laws. Margrethe Vestager, the bloc’s competition chief, issued a statement saying, “Meta must now stop this behavior.”Alleging that the ruling disregarded “the realities of the thriving European market for online classified listing services,” Meta said that it will file an appeal.
Facebook users have the option to interact with Marketplace or not, and many choose not to. In actuality, consumers use Facebook Marketplace voluntarily rather than out of obligation, the company stated in a statement.
It is the most recent in a series of heavy fines levied on Big Tech firms in recent years by the European Commission, the bloc’s enforcer, and is among the top ten antitrust penalties ever levied by the 27-nation EU.
