European Competition Watchdog Launches Antitrust Scrutiny in Facebook's Online Marketplace: FT

The European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager is set to launch an antitrust probe against Facebook Inc FB for alleged unfair dominance by its online Marketplace, the Financial Times reports.
The EU officials have sent a minimum of three rounds of questions to Facebook and its rivals regarding the social network’s alleged disruption of the classified ads business by promoting its Marketplace services for free to its 2 billion users.
Facebook launched its Marketplace in 2016, permitting the purchase and sale of goods without fees.
The social media company’s online Marketplace first attracted European Commission scrutiny in 2019 over its role regarding rivals in online classified ads, Reuters reports.
Companies were also questioned over the potential threat from Facebook’s online classified ads services.
Classified ad competitors acknowledged Facebook’s market power abuse.
The U.K. Competition and Markets Authority launched a separate antitrust probe against Facebook for alleged anticompetitive practices regarding its data collection and monetization.
Price action: FB shares traded lower by 0.01% at $327.76 on the last check Wednesday.