Last Update: July 13, 2023, 00:49 AM IST
The logo of the Meta Platforms is seen on May 22, 2022 in Davos, Switzerland. Image taken on May 22, 2022. (Reuters file photo)
Facebook owner Meta will challenge EU antitrust charges linked to its classified advertising service in closed hearings in a bid to avoid hefty fines.
Facebook owner Meta will fight EU antitrust charges in a closed hearing on Friday to avoid potentially hefty fines after accusing Facebook of linking its classified advertising service to its social network, people familiar with the matter said. .
The European Commission sent the world’s most popular social network a charge sheet last December, highlighting two practices that showed Meta abused its market power.
It says Meta gained an unfair advantage by integrating its online classified advertising service Facebook Marketplace with its social network Facebook.
It also took issue with Meta’s unfair trade terms imposed on rival online classified advertising services that advertise on Facebook or Instagram.
Meta declined to comment on the hearing, during which senior antitrust officials from the commission and their colleagues from national watchdog groups will be present to hear its arguments.
”The claims made by the European Commission are baseless. We will continue to work with regulatory authorities to demonstrate that our product innovation is pro-consumer and pro-competitor,” Meta counsel Tim Lamb said in a statement.
If found guilty of violating EU antitrust rules, the company could face fines of up to 10% of its global turnover and orders to change its business practices. People familiar with the matter told Reuters that it had previously sought to settle the matter.
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – reuters,
