Meta accused of violating EU antitrust laws over Facebook Marketplace

Dec. 19 (UPI) -- Meta has been accused of violating antitrust laws in the European Union over its Facebook Marketplace platform.

The European Commission said in a statement Monday that Meta, Facebook's parent company, had distorted competition in the markets for online classified advertisement.

The EU in June 2021 opened a probe into whether the company violated Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and the announcement Monday serves as a formal step in the bloc's investigation.

If Facebook is found to have violated EU laws during the probe, the bloc could fine the company up to 10% of its annual worldwide turnover. According to Forbes, the company's revenue in 2022 was nearly $118 billion.

"The Commission takes issue with Meta tying its online classified ads service, Facebook Marketplace, to its personal social network, Facebook," the statement reads.

"The Commission is also concerned that Meta is imposing unfair trading conditions on Facebook Marketplace's competitors for its own benefit."

Facebook Marketplace is a feature on the Facebook platform that allows users to buy and sell goods.

Investigators with the EU said that all Facebook users have access to Facebook Marketplace "whether they want it or not" which gives the social media company a "substantial distribution advantage."

"The claims made by the European Commission are without foundation," Tim Lamb, head of EMEA competition at Meta, told Politico.

"We will continue to work with regulatory authorities to demonstrate that our product innovation is pro-consumer and pro-competitive."