Today, the European Commission hit Meta with an antitrust fine for “tying” classified ads (“Facebook Marketplace”) with the Facebook social media platform. The €797.72 million fine was levied based on a novel theory and without proof of harmful conduct, doing away with case precedents on what is necessary to prove an “abuse of dominance” under European law. 

This is Meta’s first antitrust fine, having resolved a U.K. investigation into the same conduct by making changes to its Marketplace service. The order follows fines brought by the Commission against other leading U.S. tech companies including Google, Apple, Microsoft, and Intel. Meta has announced that it will appeal the decision “to promote better outcomes for European consumers.”

“Europe has already failed to foster its own tech innovation ecosystem, now it’s punishing the success of international players,” said Chamber of Progress Senior Director for Europe Kay Jebelli. “Integrating Marketplace with Facebook delivers a better, cheaper experience for selling second-hand goods. Criminalising free features and add-ons to successful services is bad for consumers and bad for innovation.”

Two months ago, economist Mario Draghi detailed Europe’s ‘existential’ crisis in his long-awaited report on European competitiveness, which urged policymakers to prioitise innovation. The newly re-elected EU President, Ursula von der Leyen, dispatched unique mission letters to each nominated Commissioner in line with Draghi’s recommendations.

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Chamber of Progress (progresschamber.org) is a center-left tech industry policy coalition promoting technology’s progressive future.  We work to ensure that all Americans benefit from technological leaps, and that the tech industry operates responsibly and fairly.