Meta is once again at risk of being fined heavily by the European Commission. The European Commission’s regulatory arm is preparing its findings that Meta linked its marketplace service to Facebook to undermine competitors, the Financial Times reports, citing sources familiar with the matter.
If found guilty, Meta could have to fork over 10 percent of its global annual revenue — a number that reached nearly $135 billion last year. However, the fine could be much lower, and Meta will almost certainly appeal.
The commission launched its preliminary investigation in 2019, announcing its initial findings three years later, saying “Meta links its leading social network Facebook to its online classified advertising services called Facebook Marketplace,” Margrethe Vestager, the executive vice president in charge of competition policy, said at the time.
“Furthermore, we are concerned that Meta imposed unfair trading conditions that allowed it to use data on competing online classified advertising services. If confirmed, Meta’s practices would be illegal under our competition rules.” Meta is facing other investigations from the Commission about its election policies, addiction and safety concerns for minors, and its consent or payment models.
The news comes at a transitional time for the European Commission, with President Ursula von der Leyen announcing her new team just yesterday. The reshuffle for her second term will see Teresa Ribera replace Margrethe Vestager, the competition chief for the past decade. Reports of Vestager stepping down first emerged in August this year.