European Union: Issued preliminary ruling of EU Commission investigation into Meta for anti-competitive usage of collected advertising data for Facebook Marketplace

On 19 December 2022, the European Commission (EC) issued a statement outlining its preliminary views on its investigation into Meta/Facebook for using collected advertising data to abuse its dominance in the social network and online advertisement market. The EC noted that Meta has a dominant position in the social network market and online display advertising market. In particular, the EC found that Meta has connected its online classified advertising service to Facebook, allowing anyone with a Facebook account access to the marketplace. The EC stated that such practice could give Meta an advantage to the extent of foreclosure of rivals. The terms and conditions of the online classified advertising service Facebook marketplace allow Meta to use data collected through competitors' ads to benefit its marketplace. The EC stated that the practice only benefits the Facebook marketplace and allows it to impose trading conditions that are unfavourable to competitors. The EC will continue its investigation after Meta addresses the preliminary findings.