The European Commission (EC) accused Meta Platforms of breaking antitrust rules in the bloc by distorting competition in the online classified ads market, warning it could impose a fine of up to 10 per cent of the company’s annual global turnover.
In a statement, the EC said it had informed Meta of its preliminary view that the company breached rules, specifically by tying its online classified ads service Facebook Marketplace to social network Facebook.
The commission is further concerned that Meta “is imposing unfair trading conditions on Facebook Marketplace’s competitors for its own benefit”.
Among its statement of objections, the commission said it found Meta to be dominant in the market for social networks, as well as in online display advertising on social media.
Its preliminary findings found Meta to be abusing its dominance by automatically allowing users of Facebook to have access to Facebook Marketplace “whether they want to or not”, giving a substantial distribution advantage that competitors can’t match.
Secondly, EC claims Meta imposes unfair trading conditions on competing online classified ad services which advertise on Facebook or Instagram, particularly with the amount of data it collects from ads from competitors.
Fine
The EC launched an investigation into Meta’s dominance in classified ads around 18 months ago, as did the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority.
Meta will now be allowed to respond to the EC with any comments or objections, before the EC takes further action which could result in a hefty fine.
As part of wider efforts to rein in US tech giants, including Meta and Google, the ECA is introducing two pieces of legislation [1], forcing better content control on their platforms.
[1] https://www.mobileworldlive.com/featured-content/top-three/digital-giants-face-fresh-eu-content-rules/
![\"IT電腦補習](\"http://itteacheritfreelance.hk/test/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/logo2-2.png\"){kind=logo}
www.itsec.hk
www.itsec.vip
www.itseceu.uk
Leave a Reply