Meta Platforms Inc. Announces Major Policy Shift

In a significant policy shift, Meta Platforms Inc. revealed on Thursday that it will now permit competing classified ad service providers to list their ads on Facebook Marketplace. This decision comes in the wake of a hefty €797 million fine imposed by the European Union in November, penalizing Meta for linking the Marketplace to its social network and engaging in unfair practices against rival classified ad services.

New Program to Foster Fair Competition

"This new program will enable third-party partners, specifically online classified ad service providers as outlined in the European Commission's decision, to showcase their consumer-to-consumer inventory on Facebook Marketplace," Meta stated in a blog post. These listings will be integrated seamlessly alongside other third-party inventory and user-posted ads, marking a new chapter in the digital marketplace's evolution.