The European Union (EU) has fined tech company Meta $840 million over alleged unfair trading conditions and “abusive” Facebook ad practices, News About Nigeria reports.
Providing details on the penalty, the EU accused Meta of breaching antitrust rules by automatically granting Facebook users access to Facebook Marketplace.
The EU also alleged that Meta, the parent company of Instagram and WhatsApp, imposed unfair trading conditions on competing online classified ad service providers advertising on its platforms.
This was outlined in a statement by EU competition chief Margrethe Vestager on Thursday.
The statement partly reads, “This is illegal under EU antitrust rules. Meta must now stop this behaviour. All Facebook users automatically have access and get regularly exposed to Facebook Marketplace, whether they want it or not.
“Additionally, Meta imposed unfair conditions on competitors in the classified ads service who advertised on Facebook and Instagram. This allowed it to use ads-related data generated by other advertisers for the sole benefit of Facebook Marketplace.”
Reacting to the fine, the tech giant denied the allegations, asserting that Facebook users are free to choose whether or not to engage with Marketplace.
Meta stated that it would appeal the EU fine, saying: “Facebook users can choose whether or not to engage with Marketplace, and many don’t. The reality is that people use Facebook Marketplace because they want to, not because they have to. It is disappointing that the Commission has chosen to take regulatory action against a free and innovative service built to meet consumer demand.”
