Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) announced it will permit competing classified ad services to list on Facebook Marketplace. This move comes after the company faced a €797 million ($828 million) fine from the European Union in November for unfairly favoring its own ad service.
The European Commission had accused the U.S. tech giant of imposing unjust trading conditions on competitors and unlawfully linking Facebook Marketplace to its social network, violating EU antitrust regulations.
Meta’s new initiative, dubbed the Facebook Marketplace Partner Program, is a direct response to the EU’s competition authority, although the company is concurrently appealing the fine. Meta’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, recently criticized the EU’s decision, likening it to a targeted tariff regime against U.S. companies.
The program was piloted in Germany, France, and the United States with eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) last month, as part of Meta’s efforts to comply with the regulatory demands. Through the Facebook Marketplace Partner Program, third-party online classified ad providers, as defined by the European Commission’s decision, will now be able to showcase their consumer-to-consumer inventory alongside other third-party and Facebook user listings.
Meta detailed the changes in a blog post, explaining that the new partner inventory would be integrated and displayed next to existing listings on Facebook Marketplace. This adjustment aims to create a more level playing field for ad service providers on the platform.
The European Commission has taken note of Meta’s actions and is currently evaluating whether the company’s recent changes are in full compliance with the November ruling. The outcome of this assessment could have further implications for Meta’s operations within the EU market.
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