EU Levies Antitrust Charges Against Meta; Could Hazard Penalty Upto 10% Of Annual Turnover

European Union antitrust watchdogs charged Meta Platforms, Inc META for distorting competition in the markets for online classified ads by bundling the Facebook Marketplace to its social network.
The European Commission paved the way for potential fines or changes to its business model, Bloomberg reports.
EU Antitrust Commissioner Margrethe Vestager voiced disapproval for Meta tying its dominant social network Facebook to its online classified ad services Facebook Marketplace, leaving no other option for Facebook users.
Also Read: Meta's Metaverse Ambitions In Jeopardy As FTC Challenges Within Unlimited Acquisition
The EU watchdog also voiced concerns over Meta's unfair trading conditions, which allow it to use data on competing online classified ad services.
The Commission looked to investigate further and could impose a fine of up to 10% of the company's annual global turnover on sufficient evidence of a violation of European Union rules, Reuters reports.
The EU previously fined Facebook for inadequate information in the merger review of the WhatsApp takeover.
Meta is also the subject of inquiries in the U.K. and Germany.
The EU closed a separate antitrust probe into an advertising pact between Meta and Alphabet Inc's GOOG GOOGL Google dubbed "Jedi Blue."
Meta reported third-quarter revenue of $27.71 billion, a 4% decline year-over-year. The revenue came in ahead of a Street estimate of $27.53 billion.
Meta reported earnings per share of $1.64 in the third quarter, which came in shy of the $1.91 target from analysts.
Price Action: META shares traded lower by 3.93% at $114.72 on the last check Monday.
Photo by Tumisu from Pixaby

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