Commission Fines Meta €797.72 Million Over Facebook Marketplace Practices

What the Commission found

The Commission found that Meta is dominant in the market for personal social networks, which is at least EEA-wide, and in national markets for online display advertising on social media. It concluded that Meta abused those dominant positions in breach of Article 102 TFEU in two ways.

First, by tying Facebook Marketplace to Facebook, all Facebook users automatically have access to the service and are regularly exposed to it, whether they want it or not. The Commission found that this gives Facebook Marketplace a substantial distribution advantage that competitors cannot match and may foreclose them.

Second, Meta unilaterally imposed unfair trading conditions on other online classified ads providers that advertise on Facebook and Instagram, allowing Meta to use ads-related data generated by those advertisers for the sole benefit of Facebook Marketplace.

The fine and orders

The Commission ordered Meta to bring the conduct effectively to an end and to refrain from repeating it or adopting practices with an equivalent object or effect. The fine was set under the Commission's 2006 guidelines on fines, taking into account the duration and gravity of the infringement and the turnover of Facebook Marketplace, as well as Meta's total turnover to ensure deterrence.

Background

The Commission opened formal proceedings in June 2021 and sent Meta a Statement of Objections in December 2022, to which Meta replied in June 2023. More information will be available under case number AT.40684 once confidentiality issues are resolved.

Why it matters

The decision shows the Commission continuing to apply Article 102 to integrated digital services alongside its newer powers under the Digital Markets Act. Platforms that host advertising from businesses with which they also compete may wish to review how advertiser data is accessed and used internally.

Sources

• European Commission: Commission fines Meta €797.72 million over abusive practices benefitting Facebook Marketplace
• European Commission: Antitrust: Commission sends Statement of Objections to Meta over abusive practices benefiting Facebook Marketplace