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Meta has reportedly breached antitrust rules in the EU by trying to dominate the classified advertising market.
In the report from the Financial Times, the European Commission claimed that Meta failed to comply with the antitrust rules. It labeled the ad-supported subscription option as a ‘pay or consent’ model. This meant paying to use Meta’s platforms ad-free or consent to sharing their data for targeted advertising.
The ad-supported social networking service was introduced for Facebook and Instagram last year in Europe.
The regulators claim that Meta links its free Marketplace services with social networks in order to gain an unfair advantage over its rivals. Facebook Marketplace released in 2016 is a platform to purchase and sell second-hand goods.
The EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) came into force earlier in March this year. Since then, the EC has been targeting big tech including Apple and Google with the charge against Meta being the latest in the series of actions.
The bloc’s decision is expected to come out next month. If Meta is found guilty over ad practices, it would face a fine of up to 10% of its annual revenue of $135 billion in 2023. Both Meta and the commission did not provide an official statement on the matter.
