The European Commission imposed a fine of about €797.72 million, equivalent to US$840.24 million on Meta. The fine was reportedly announced on November 14, 2024, for Meta’s anti-competitive practices.
"The European Commission has fined Meta for breaching EU antitrust rules by tying its online classified ads service Facebook Marketplace to its social network Facebook and by imposing unfair trading conditions on other online classified ads service providers," the European Commission said.
The fine follows an investigation that kicked off way back in June of 2021 when the Commission first raised objections over Meta's unfair trade practices. In particular, the Commission alleges that Meta's bundling of Facebook Marketplace with the social network Facebook led to harm to competition. Thus, resulting in the inability of competitors to gain traction in the online classified ads market.
Meta, however, has disputed this. According to Meta, the determination made by Facebook users if they are willing to use the Marketplace or not is a matter of their choice. Hence, the Commission’s failure to exclude the fact that it’s the user’s choice to use Marketplace weakens their case against Meta.
Meta said it would appeal the decision to the European Union's highest court. However, the company further showed its commitment to comply with the EU’s ruling and working on a solution to address the concerns.
It is just the latest in a series of legal challenges that Meta has faced in recent times. Europe's lead privacy regulator fined Meta €91 million (US$101.5 million) for saving user passwords as plaintext in similar news. The incident took place five years ago when Meta stored some passwords without protection or encryption. This practice is considered very risky as it leaves an opportunity for criminals to exploit. Read More
The fine, one of the largest imposed on a tech giant in recent years, highlights growing oversight of big tech companies under the EU antitrust laws. However, it also showcases the EU’s growing scrutiny to ensure the prevalence of fair-trading practices. It remains to be seen whether Meta will win this lawsuit.