EU fines Meta €800M for antitrust violations

Meta has been fined 798 million euros by the European Commission for breaching competition laws, which equates to nearly six billion Danish kroner. According to the Commission, Meta linked Facebook to its online platform Facebook Marketplace, creating ‘unfair trading conditions’ for competitors. Margrethe Vestager, the outgoing Danish Commissioner for Competition, stated that it was illegal as it favored their own service Facebook Marketplace, giving it an advantage not available to others. Meta plans to appeal the decision, arguing that the EU has not proven that the company harmed competitors or consumers, emphasizing that users choose to use Marketplace rather than being forced to. This fine is among the top ten largest issued for competition law breaches. Last year, Meta reported total revenues of about 125 billion euros.