EU Opens Antitrust Probe Into Facebook's Use of Advertiser Data
The European Commission launches a formal investigation to determine if Facebook unfairly uses data from rival advertisers to boost its own Marketplace service.
The European Commission opens a formal antitrust investigation into Facebook over suspected violations of EU competition rules. The regulator examines whether Facebook unfairly uses advertising data gathered from rival companies to compete against them in neighboring markets. This probe focuses heavily on the online classified ads sector, where Facebook operates its Marketplace service.
Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager expresses concern that Facebook collects vast amounts of data from its nearly 3 billion users and 7 million advertisers. The Commission worries that this massive data trove gives Facebook an undue competitive advantage over the very companies that advertise on its social network. Vestager emphasizes that in the modern digital economy, data should not be utilized in ways that distort fair market competition.
As part of this in-depth investigation, the Commission evaluates whether Facebook unfairly ties its Facebook Marketplace to its dominant social network. Rival online classified ads providers advertise on Facebook to reach consumers, but they simultaneously compete directly with Facebook Marketplace. The preliminary investigation reveals concerns that Facebook potentially distorts competition by leveraging commercially valuable data from these competitors to bolster its own classified ads platform.