The European Union has hit technology giant Meta with a fine just shy of 800 million euros for what it called “abusive practices” involving its Facebook Marketplace online classified ads business. The EU’s European Commission issued the fine of 797.

Meta's dominance in the EU's social media and online advertising markets has raised significant competition concerns, with Brussels concluding that Meta leverages its user data fr

The EU fines Meta €798M for antitrust violations, citing unfair competition and tying Facebook Marketplace to the social network.

The penalty, under the tough new Digital Markets Act (DMA), is set to come just months after Cupertino, California-based Apple was hit with a €1.8 billion (US$2 billion) fine for similar abuses under the bloc’s traditional competition rules – involving music streaming service Spotify.

An EU commission alleged that Meta leveraged its dominance in social networking to gain an unfair advantage in online classified ads.

The executive arm of the European Union isn’t shying away from slapping major tech companies with hefty fines. The European Commission has fined Meta €797.12 million ($842 million) for violating antitrust regulations.

The European Commission fined the company over allegations that it tied its classified-ads platform to its flagship social network.

Meta said it would appeal the decision by the European Union, which said the company had abused its dominance in social networking to strengthen its shopping and classified ads service.

Meta was penalized by the EU for tying Facebook Marketplace to its social network, and for imposing unfair trading conditions on competitors.

Meta Platforms Inc. was hit with a €798 million ($841 million) fine by European Union regulators by tying its Facebook Marketplace service to its sprawling social network, the US tech giant’s first ever penalty for EU antitrust violations.

The EU fined online giant Meta almost 800 million euros on Thursday for breaching antitrust rules by giving users of its Facebook social network automatic access to classified ads service Facebook Marketplace.