EU imposes $800mn fine on Meta
The tech giant faces a penalty exceeding $800 million for violating the bloc’s antitrust regulations. Read Full Article at RT.com.
TroibNews 
The European Commission has issued a fine of €797 million to Meta Platforms for what it terms abusive practices that allegedly favored Facebook Marketplace, which is owned and operated by Meta.
In a statement released on Thursday, the EC asserted that Meta violated the EU’s antitrust regulations “by tying its online classified ads service Facebook Marketplace to its personal social network Facebook and by imposing unfair trading conditions on other online classified ads service providers.”
The EU's ruling indicated that Meta engaged in an illegal “tie” by making Facebook Marketplace mandatory for users of its social media platform.
Meta announced plans to appeal the penalty, contending that the ruling from Brussels overlooked the fact that Facebook users had the option to decide whether to interact with the Marketplace service.
The accusations against Meta began in 2021, when Brussels launched formal proceedings regarding the company's allegedly anticompetitive practices. Concerns about Meta's connection of Facebook to its online classified ad services surfaced in December 2022.
Additionally, earlier this year, EU antitrust regulators alleged that Meta breached the bloc’s Digital Markets Act by implementing a 'pay or consent' advertising model, which offered users the choice of either paying a subscription fee or consenting to the use of their data for advertising purposes.
The EC remarked that the “binary choice” imposed on Facebook users coerced them into consenting to the use of their personal data and did not provide an equivalent “less personalized” version of Meta’s social networks.
Meta, on its part, contended that its advertising model complied with the regulations and was developed to align with the EU’s directive requiring consent before displaying ads or the offer of an “alternative” version of its services that does not depend on data collection for ads.
Sophie Wagner for TROIB News
In a statement released on Thursday, the EC asserted that Meta violated the EU’s antitrust regulations “by tying its online classified ads service Facebook Marketplace to its personal social network Facebook and by imposing unfair trading conditions on other online classified ads service providers.”
The EU's ruling indicated that Meta engaged in an illegal “tie” by making Facebook Marketplace mandatory for users of its social media platform.
Meta announced plans to appeal the penalty, contending that the ruling from Brussels overlooked the fact that Facebook users had the option to decide whether to interact with the Marketplace service.
The accusations against Meta began in 2021, when Brussels launched formal proceedings regarding the company's allegedly anticompetitive practices. Concerns about Meta's connection of Facebook to its online classified ad services surfaced in December 2022.
Additionally, earlier this year, EU antitrust regulators alleged that Meta breached the bloc’s Digital Markets Act by implementing a 'pay or consent' advertising model, which offered users the choice of either paying a subscription fee or consenting to the use of their data for advertising purposes.
The EC remarked that the “binary choice” imposed on Facebook users coerced them into consenting to the use of their personal data and did not provide an equivalent “less personalized” version of Meta’s social networks.
Meta, on its part, contended that its advertising model complied with the regulations and was developed to align with the EU’s directive requiring consent before displaying ads or the offer of an “alternative” version of its services that does not depend on data collection for ads.
Sophie Wagner for TROIB News
