Meta Fined €798 Million Over Facebook Marketplace Antitrust Violation

In a significant ruling that underscores Europe’s commitment to regulating big tech, Meta has been hit with a hefty €798 million fine over its practices concerning Facebook Marketplace.

This penalty comes after the European Commission determined that Meta used its dominant position in the market to manipulate competition by bundling Facebook Marketplace with its flagship social media platform, Facebook. The Commission claims this gave Facebook Marketplace an unfair edge over competing classified ad services, breaching EU antitrust laws designed to promote fair market practices.

The ruling, announced today, marks a new chapter in an ongoing case that started in 2021. In 2022, regulators found that Meta’s Facebook Marketplace violated competition laws by forcing users to engage with its marketplace service, giving it a substantial advantage over rivals.

Margrethe Vestager, who heads the European Commission’s competition policy, emphasized that this unfair advantage was not just an inconvenience for competitors but a clear violation of EU competition rules. Meta’s actions, according to the Commission, stifled competition by making it harder for other companies to compete on equal footing.