Meta faces ¥1.6 trillion fine after European Commission warns of antitrust violations
The European Commission told Meta that ``tying social media Facebook and Facebook's advertising service distorts competition and violates antitrust laws.'' If Meta fails to remedy this issue, the company could be fined as much as 10% of its global annual turnover.
Antitrust: Commission sends Statement of Objections to Meta
Meta abused its dominant market position to benefit Facebook Marketplace, EU's initial findings show | TechCrunch
https://techcrunch.com/2022/12/19/meta-abused-its-dominant-market-position-to-benefit-facebook-marketplace-eus-initial-findings-show/
Meta could face $11.8 billion fine as EU charges it with antitrust breach
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/12/19/meta-could-face-11point8-billion-fine-as-eu-charges-it-with-antitrust-breach.html
In a statement dated December 19, 2022, the European Commission said: 'The European Commission has taken the preliminary view that Meta violates EU antitrust rules by distorting competition in the online advertising market. Meta has linked Facebook Marketplace , a classified advertising service, to Facebook, a social network, and the European Commission sees this as a problem,' he said, accusing Meta of violating antitrust laws. We have announced that we have notified that there is
The “Facebook Marketplace” pointed out by the European Commission is a goods trading brokerage service launched by Meta in 2016. Facebook Marketplace allows any Facebook user to list and buy clothes, books, and more. Also, on Facebook Marketplace, it is possible for those who want to sell things to post advertisements promoting their items. Such a service that allows individuals to post simple advertisements is called 'classified advertising'.
When this Facebook Marketplace classified ad is posted on Facebook, Facebook users are forced to see it. In other words, Facebook users are automatically directed to Facebook Marketplace whether they want to or not. The European Commission is concerned that this connection gives Facebook Marketplace an advantage over competing services, leading to an impediment to competition.
Margrethe Vestager, the European Commission's vice president for competition policy, also said that Meta would 'make advertising-related data available to the Facebook Marketplace' for competing services that advertise on Facebook and Instagram. accusing it of unilaterally imposing unfair trading terms.
The European Commission has delivered a ``statement of objections'' to Meta, saying that the above two points constitute abuse of a dominant position. This Statement of Objections is the formal process of the European Commission's investigation into alleged antitrust violations. The Statement of Objections does not predict the outcome of the investigation, but if the investigation finds Meta has violated the law, it could face fines of up to 10% of annual revenue. Meta's annual revenue in 2021 was about $ 118 billion (about 16 trillion yen), so 10% of that is about $ 11.8 billion (about 1.6 trillion yen).
Meta's head of EMEA competition, Tim Lamb, said: 'The European Commission's allegations are baseless. We are working with regulators to ensure that our product innovations lead to consumer protection and competitiveness. I will continue to prove that,' he commented.
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