European regulators have fined Meta, the parent company of Facebook, €798m ($840m) for abusing its position and taking unfair advantage over competitors in its online ads service Facebook Marketplace.

“The European Commission has fined Meta €797.72 million for breaching EU antitrust rules by tying its online classified ads service Facebook Marketplace to its personal social network Facebook and by imposing unfair trading conditions on other online classified ads service providers,” the European Commission said in a statement.

The statement adds that “the Commission found that Meta abused its dominant positions in breach of Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (‘TFEU’) by:

• Tying its online classified ads service Facebook Marketplace to its personal social network Facebook. This means that all Facebook users automatically have access and get regularly exposed to Facebook Marketplace whether they want it or not. The Commission found that competitors of Facebook Marketplace may be foreclosed as the tie gives Facebook Marketplace a substantial distribution advantage which competitors cannot match.
• Unilaterally imposing unfair trading conditions on other online classified ads service providers who advertise on Meta’s platforms, in particular on its very popular social networks Facebook and Instagram. This allows Meta to use ads-related data generated by other advertisers for the sole benefit of Facebook Marketplace.

In response, Meta has said it will “appeal the decision, but in the meantime, it will comply and will work quickly and constructively to launch a solution that addresses the points raised,” according to reports.

Warning from EU

“The Commission has ordered Meta to bring the conduct effectively to an end, and to refrain from repeating the infringement or from adopting practices with an equivalent object or effect in the future,” the statement reads.

It also says, “dominant companies have a special responsibility not to abuse their powerful market position by restricting competition, either in the market where they are dominant or in separate markets.”

“It [Meta] did so to benefit its own service Facebook Marketplace, thereby giving it advantages that other online classified ads service providers could not match,” EU antitrust head Margrethe Vestager has said, according to reports.

But Meta has said the Commission has not come up with any evidence about any harm caused to competitors or customers.

The initial investigation by EU into Meta’s Marketplace monopoly started in 2021 after complaints from other firms about their inability to compete with the market giant on its online adds service platform.

This is the first fine Meta has received from the EU over competition rules. However, the firm has previously been fined by Irish Data Protection Commissioner “over mishandling people’s data when transferring it between Europe and the United States.”