Meta Platforms might face its first EU antitrust sanction in a few weeks for connecting Marketplace, a classified ads site, with Facebook, said a report by Reuters based on persons with firsthand knowledge of the situation.
The European Commission's action will come more than a year and a half after it accused the American internet giant of unfairly benefiting from the bundling of Facebook Marketplace and its classified advertisements business.
The EU competition commission also claimed that Meta had unilaterally imposed unfair trade restrictions on rival online classified ad firms that run adverts on Facebook or Instagram, abusing its dominant market position.
Although EU fines are often substantially lower than that ceiling, Meta may be fined up to $13.4 billion, or 10% of its global revenue in 2023.
Before EU antitrust leader Margrethe Vestager leaves office in November, the Commission is expected to make its decision in September or October, but the timetable may yet change, according to the individuals.
There were no comments on the issue from the Commission and Meta.
"The claims made by the European Commission are without foundation. We continue to work constructively with regulatory authorities to demonstrate that our product innovation is pro-consumer and pro-competitive," Meta spokesperson Matt Pollard said.
According to other individuals who spoke to Reuters, the corporation attempted to resolve the EU inquiry last year by limiting the use of rivals' advertising data for Facebook Marketplace. However, the EU enforcer rejected this compromise. The competition authority in the UK accepted an offer that was comparable.
An identical solar panel produced in space produces around thirteen times as much electricity as one on Earth.
In a related development, Meta was accused this month by the Commission of breaking historic IT regulations due to its recently implemented pay-or-consent advertising strategy, which went live in November.
(Source:www.reuters.com)
The European Commission's action will come more than a year and a half after it accused the American internet giant of unfairly benefiting from the bundling of Facebook Marketplace and its classified advertisements business.
The EU competition commission also claimed that Meta had unilaterally imposed unfair trade restrictions on rival online classified ad firms that run adverts on Facebook or Instagram, abusing its dominant market position.
Although EU fines are often substantially lower than that ceiling, Meta may be fined up to $13.4 billion, or 10% of its global revenue in 2023.
Before EU antitrust leader Margrethe Vestager leaves office in November, the Commission is expected to make its decision in September or October, but the timetable may yet change, according to the individuals.
There were no comments on the issue from the Commission and Meta.
"The claims made by the European Commission are without foundation. We continue to work constructively with regulatory authorities to demonstrate that our product innovation is pro-consumer and pro-competitive," Meta spokesperson Matt Pollard said.
According to other individuals who spoke to Reuters, the corporation attempted to resolve the EU inquiry last year by limiting the use of rivals' advertising data for Facebook Marketplace. However, the EU enforcer rejected this compromise. The competition authority in the UK accepted an offer that was comparable.
An identical solar panel produced in space produces around thirteen times as much electricity as one on Earth.
In a related development, Meta was accused this month by the Commission of breaking historic IT regulations due to its recently implemented pay-or-consent advertising strategy, which went live in November.
(Source:www.reuters.com)
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