The European Commission would be ready to impose fines on Meta fined over $13 billion. This is reported by the news agency Reuters, according to which the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp should receive a monstrous fine from the EU antitrust, for having linked the blue social network with the Marketplace classifieds service.
The EU Antitrust’s objections
As already contested to Big Tech almost a year and a half ago, Brussels believes that the integration of the social platform with the e-commerce service Marketplace would have given Facebook a unfair advantage.
“This means that Facebook users automatically have access to Marketplace, whether they want it or not, and this gives” Meta’s ad service “a substantial distribution advantage that competitors can’t match“, the European Union explained.
According to sources cited by Reuters, the charges brought by the Commission could lead to a fine against Meta of up to $13.4 billion or 10% of its revenues global for 2023.
The European Union Antitrust has also accused Meta of abuse of dominant position by unilaterally imposing unfair trading conditions on competing online advertising services that advertise on Facebook or Instagram.
All charges that the giant has always denied: “The European Commission’s claims are unfounded. We continue to work constructively with regulators to demonstrate that our product innovation is pro-consumer and pro-competitive,” said Mete spokesman Matt Pollard.
The decision by the Commission, which has not commented on the rumours reported by Reuters, could come in September and October this year, before the end of the mandate of European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, but it could take longer.
Last year Meta allegedly tried to find a compromise with Brussels by limiting theuse of advertising data of competitors for Facebook Marketplace, as proposed to the UK Antitrust Authority.
Unlike the British regulator, however, the European Union Competition and Market Authority had rejected the solution.
Meta’s interest in Essilux
The rumors of the monstrous fine by the EU Commission to Meta come in the same days in which Big Tech has ended up at the center of the news that it would intend to enter the eyewear giant EssilorLuxottica.
According to rumors revealed by the Wall Street Journal, the social media giant is planning to acquire the 5% of the shares of the group founded by Leonardo Del Vecchio, for a value of approximately 5 billion dollars.
Confirmation of this interest came from the president of Essilux, Francesco Milleri: “We are informed of this type of evaluation, we welcome anyone who wants to invest in our company” he declared commenting on the rumors of the acquisition of shares of the company by Mark Zuckerberg’s company and underlining how the partnership with Big Tech is already “very strong”.
“I think if they go ahead it could work and help” but an equity investment “is not necessary for our partnership which is strong beyond this” explained Milleri, specifying that for the entry of Meta “we have not planned a capital increase, if it wants to enter will have to buy on the market“.