Eu Fines Meta Nearly € 800 Million for Facebook Marketplace Practices and Advertising Data Violations

It’s been a tough week over at meta hq, as the european commission has slapped the tech giant with another for tying facebook market, its classified-ab-service, to facebook and using Non-Public Advertising Data.

Authorities are demanding € 797.72 Million for Meta, which is essentially giving marketplace an unfair advantage over competing digital storfronts. Marketplace was set up in 2016 as a way for individuals to buy and sell items over social media, typically furniture.

Eu Says Meta Violates Antitrust Laws, Restrictions Competition

The commission has two main problems. The first is that “All Facebook users automatically have access and get exposed to Facebook Marketplace Whether they want it or not,” And competors cannot Reach the Same Level of Exposure.

The second is that competitors must consult to meta using their data if they want to advertise on Facebook or Instagram. This Data Cold Benefit Marketplace, and the Commission says that it is “unjustified, disparoporting and not necessary for the provision of online display advertising services on meta ‘ Platforms. “

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority has also questioned Meta’s Data Practices, Arguing that they might give Give Meta an Undue Competitive Advantage. However, The Authority Ended Its Investigation After Meeta Agreed to Limit Its Use of Advertising Data and Allow Advertisers to Opt out of their data being used.

Margrethe vestager, the outgoing european commissioner for competition, said that these practices provide meta with “Advantages that Other Classified Ads Services

“This is Illegal under eu antitrust rules. Meta must stop this behavior,” She said in the Press release,

See: Apple’s Geo-Blocking Practices Cold Violate Eu Rules

Meta’s Ownership of Facebook and Instagram Makes It Dominant in the Markets of Social Media and Digital Advertising on Social Media. While this is not illegal in its gives it a responsibility to not after its position by restricting competition in these two markets, according to European Law.

The commission is the first open proceedings into meta’s possible anticompetitive conduct in June 2021 And isesed initial charges via a Statement of Objections in December 2022,

The fin was called by considering the Duration and gravity of the infringement, as well as meta and marketplace’s respective turns. When Paid, The Money will go towards the general eu budget, Reducing Member States’ Contributions the Following Year and the Burden on Taxpayers.

Meta to appeal fin, deenies marketplace and ad data claims

Meta Immedited to the Commission’s Announcement, Saying it would appeal the finMark zuckerberg’s company says the authority “ignores the fact that facebook users can chooses whats or not to engage with market Marketplace, having “Built Systems and Controls to Ensure That.”

It added that the commission “Provides no evidence of competitive harm to rivals or any harm to consumers,” Using ebay, leboncoin, and marktplaats as examples as examples of rivals those. Regardless, meta pointed out that eu competition law does not “preserve the instablelyed business positions of incumbent provides in the face of innovation.”

Meta also referenceed a September Report By Former European Central Bank President Mario Draghi that called Called for an overhaul to enjoy the region’s compettivaness and innovation, arguing that the fin -contradicts The tech giant cited this report against a few days ago after conceading to regulators Regarding its advertising practices.

The eu’s ongoing pursuit of meta’s advertising practices

Vestagar has long hada and rivals such as apple, google, and amazon in her Crosshairs. The name of the game is to Protect Eu Citizens

Much of Meta’s Revenue Comes Directly from the clicks and Engagement Targeted Ads on Facebook and Instagram Generate. Thus, losing a segment of user data as big as the eu’s 27-nation population could harm their continued growth, so meta have a financial interes in the interest in conceding with the eu’s demands. In the third Quarter of this year, 23.5% of Its Advertising Revenue was generated by european users.

Meta is currently challenging the commission for including marketplace and messenger on the list of Core Platform Services That must complete with the DMA’s requirements, as they provide “An important gateway for business users to reach end users,

A company specksperson told The Verge That marketplace shouldn’t Qualify because it’s a consumer-to-consumer service, and meta does not sit sit in the middle. Compliance with the DMA means meta will have to follow rules on data sharing and interoperability, which court impact its competitive edge.

Meta was also Fined € 110 million by the commission in 2017 For providing Misleading Information DURINT Its Acquisition of Whatsapp Three Years Prior. The company had assured regulators it could buy user accounts

See: EU’s AI Act: Europe’s new rules for artificial intelligence

Over the Years, Europe’s Data Protection Commission Has Fined Meta Several Times for Violating GDPR Rules based on Its Targeted Advertising Practices. In addition to the DMA and GDPR, Meta must complete with the digital services act, a set of rules designed to regulate how designed “Very large online platforms“Handle Privacy, Protect their users, and operate transparently.

But it’s not just just advertising data that meta and the eu are warring over. In June, Meta delayed the training of its large language models on public content shared on Facebook and Instagram in Europe after regulators suggested it might need to get the consent of the content’s owners. Meta Ai, Its Frontier Ai Assistant, Has Still Not Been Released Within The Bloc due to Its “Unpredictable” regulations,

REPRESENTINES From Meta, Along with Spotify, SAP, Ericsson, Klarna, and More, Signed an open letter in September to europe expressing their concers about The letter says that interventions from the european data protection authorities have created uncertainty about what data they can use to train their ai models.