European regulators have launched two separate antitrust investigations to discover whether the social network’s use of data gives Facebook an unfair advantage in advertising. The results of the investigation could result in fines on Facebook and pressure for the social network to change its business model. The European Commission is assessing if Facebook breached EU competition rules by using advertisers’ data to compete.
The investigation will focus on Facebook Marketplace and if Facebook uses information from advertisers’ activity to benefit in competition by using the data to influence Facebook Marketplace. The UK Competition and Markets Authority is also examining the anti-competition nature of Facebook in an investigation largely specific to the use of data in Facebook Marketplace and Facebook Dating. These lawsuits come after Facebook was sued by many US states and the US government in December for anticompetitive behavior.
Read more: Europe opens twin antitrust investigations into Facebook
