France: Issued interim measures against Meta in response to Adloox's complaint of anti-competitive practices

On 4 May 2023, the French Competition Authority, Autorité de la Concurrence, issued interim measures against Meta and Facebook in response to a complaint from French advertising verification company Adloox SAS. In particular, Adloox's complaint alleged that Meta engaged in discriminatory practices by denying the company access to Facebook with the objective of providing its independent advertising verification services. Adloox requested interim measures against Meta from the Competition Authority. The Competition Authority ordered Meta to define and make public its criteria for accessing and maintaining "viewability" and "brand safety" partnerships which are objective, transparent, non-discriminatory, and proportionate" within two months. Further, the Competition Authority ordered Meta to allow Adloox's admission to partnerships if the company meets the new access criteria. The Competition Authority issued interim measures based on Article L. 464-1 of the French Commercial Code, which states that the authority is allowed to issue interim measures if market practices could cause "serious or immediate harm" to the economy or sector. Finally, the Competition Authority claimed that Meta's practices are oligopolistic and potentially harmful to the independent advertising verification sector. The interim measures will remain in effect until the Competition Authority issues its final decision.