Suspected of abusing its dominant position in classified advertising, Meta (META.US) was fined 7.98 billion euros by the European Union.

Meta (META.US) was fined 798 million euros (841 million US dollars) by EU regulators for bundling its Facebook Marketplace service with its massive social network, marking the first time the US tech giant has been fined for violating EU antitrust laws. In a groundbreaking decision, the European Commission ordered Meta to stop bundling its classified ads service with Facebook's vast social media platform and to avoid imposing unfair trading conditions on competitors' second-hand goods platforms. EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager said, "Meta tied its online classified ads service Facebook Marketplace with its personal social network Facebook and imposed unfair trading conditions on other online classified ads service providers. It did so to benefit its own service, Facebook Marketplace." This fine may be one of Vestager's final actions as she is due to leave office by the end of this year. Over the past decade, she has been one of Silicon Valley's toughest critics, having imposed billions of euros in antitrust fines on Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOGL.US), including over 8 billion euros in fines. The decision comes after an investigation into how Meta used Facebook's billions of users to exclude competitors. EU regulators said Meta also used data from competing platforms advertising on Facebook to enhance its Marketplace service. Meta responded by saying the company will appeal to the EU court, a process that could take several years. It argued that the fine "ignores the reality of the vibrant European market" and "protects large existing companies." It is understood that Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN.US) escaped fines from the EU in a similar case in 2022, accusing the US e-commerce company of plundering competitors' sales data to unfairly favor its own products. Regulators accepted some proposals from Amazon.com, Inc., including a commitment to stop using non-public data of independent sellers for competitors' retail business on its marketplace. Facebook's Marketplace has also been targeted by other regulators. Following a series of concessions, the company reached a settlement with the UK Competition and Markets Authority. Meta's financial reports show quarterly sales of $40.6 billion as of September 30, an increase of 19% year-on-year. In recent years, Meta has been striving to balance massive expenditures in technologies such as artificial intelligence and virtual reality while still working to ensure its core digital advertising business continues to grow. While the EU can impose fines up to 10% of global sales, its fines are usually much smaller, taking into account the severity of the charges and the submarkets involved. This has left regulators frustrated and calling for tougher remedial measures, including more structural solutions. Like the US, the EU has been considering a potential split of Alphabet Inc. Class C to alleviate concerns about its dominance in advertising technology. The new Digital Markets Act (DMA) solidifies traditional antitrust laws by imposing strict protections on Silicon Valley companies. The European Commission has launched investigations into Alphabet Inc. Class C and Meta to review their compliance with the DMA, while Apple Inc. (AAPL.US) may soon face its first fine from the EU for failing to comply. This week, Meta adjusted how it targets users for advertising on Facebook and Instagram to offset the escalation of the investigation.