EU Court Orders End to Strict Facebook Marketplace Curbs

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Luxembourg: A European Union court ruled on Wednesday that authorities must relax Facebook Marketplace's onerous Digital Markets Act (DMA) restrictions, giving Meta a partial legal victory.

The EU General Court declared that the European Commission failed to offer sufficient justification for designating Facebook Marketplace as a ‘core platform service’ under the DMA, a historic law aiming at limiting the influence of major online enterprises. Judges found that the Commission failed to adequately explain why the online classifieds business should be subject to the law's strict standards.

However, the court denied Meta's appeal against Messenger's DMA designation, finding that the messaging platform is a key means for businesses to reach customers and should be subject to regulatory standards.

Meta stated that Marketplace and Messenger are Facebook extensions and should not be managed independently. The court only agreed on the question of Marketplace, but upheld the Commission's position on Messenger.

EU regulators saw the ruling as a setback even if it may not have much of an actual impact. The Commission previously revoked Marketplace's gatekeeper designation when the audience of the platform dropped below the DMA's standards. An appeal of the decision may still be heard by the EU's top court.

Photo courtesy: EPA-EFE