Meta hit with 1 trillion won 'fine bomb' in Europe for "Facebook Marketplace antitrust law violation"

On the 14th (local time), the European Union (EU) Commission imposed a massive fine exceeding 1 trillion won on Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook, for violating antitrust laws.

The EU Commission announced that it fined Meta 797.72 million euros (approximately 1.1812 trillion won) for linking the online classified advertising service 'Facebook Marketplace' to Facebook, thereby creating an unfair trading environment for other similar service providers. Facebook Marketplace is an online secondhand trading platform.

The Commission explained, "Facebook users are automatically directed to Facebook Marketplace and regularly exposed to it, whether they want to or not," adding, "This provides a significant distribution advantage that competitors cannot match, potentially excluding competitors from the market."

It also pointed out that other online classified advertising service providers who want to advertise on Facebook and Instagram are unilaterally subjected to unfair trading conditions. Furthermore, "Through this, Meta can use advertising-related data generated by other advertisers to favor its own Marketplace," the Commission noted. The Commission urged Meta to immediately correct the illegal conduct along with the fine imposition order.

Meta promptly issued a statement, announcing plans to file a lawsuit and signaling a legal dispute. Meta argued that the Commission failed to prove that it caused 'competitive harm' to competitors and consumers and ignored the reality of the growing European online classified advertising market. It emphasized, "Facebook users can choose whether to use Marketplace, and users use Marketplace because they want to, not because they are forced to."

Meta was also fined over 1 trillion won in Europe last year. The Irish authorities imposed a fine of 1.2 billion euros (approximately 1.77 trillion won) in May last year, claiming that Meta violated privacy laws by transferring user information to the United States.

Meta is also facing antitrust lawsuits in the United States. In December 2020, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed an antitrust lawsuit alleging that Meta paid excessive amounts to acquire Instagram and WhatsApp to eliminate early competitive threats. Meta requested the court to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing that it was not intended to restrict competition, but recently the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia rejected Meta's request.