EU fines Meta $843 million over marketplace practices

New Delhi: The European Union has slapped a hefty fine of $843 million on Meta, the company behind Facebook, for its practices related to its Marketplace classified ads service. 

The EU found that Meta was using its dominance in the social media market to unfairly boost its own Marketplace service. This was done by automatically including Marketplace within the Facebook platform, exposing all users to it, whether they wanted to see ads or not. 

Furthermore, Meta was also accused of using data from other classified ads services that advertise on its platforms to improve its own marketplace, creating an unfair playing field for other competitors.

Margrethe Vestager, the EU's competition commissioner, stated that Meta's actions violated EU antitrust rules. She emphasised that Meta must now end these practices to ensure fair competition.

Meta has announced plans to appeal the decision, arguing that the EU's case overlooks the fact that users can choose not to use Marketplace and that the platform has not stifled competition from other online marketplaces where companies like eBay and Vinted continue to thrive.

This fine marks the first time Meta has been penalised by the EU for breaching antitrust rules, highlighting the ongoing scrutiny Big Tech faces regarding market dominance and fair play in the digital arena.