Meta is expanding its Facebook Marketplace to include eBay listings. The company will launch a test version in the US, France, and Germany that will allow users to browse eBay offers on the Marketplace. Sellers on eBay can post items as usual, and “as long as your account is in good standing, your ads may appear on any of these partners, including Facebook Marketplace, based on user interest, purchase trends, and ad quality,” eBay says. The company will continue to process all product inquiries and transactions.
Meta’s decision is an attempt to appease the European Union, which fined the tech company €797.12 million ($821 million) last November. The European Commission accused Meta of violating antitrust laws because “Meta tied its Facebook Marketplace online classifieds service to its personal social network Facebook and imposed unfair terms of trade on other online classifieds service providers,” Margrethe Vestager, the European Commission’s executive vice president responsible for competition policy, said at the time. “It did so in favor of its own Facebook Marketplace service, thereby giving it advantages that other online ad providers could not match.”
Meta’s decision to display eBay ads on Facebook Marketplace is far from an admission of guilt. “While we disagree with the European Commission’s decision on Facebook Marketplace and continue to appeal it, we are working quickly and constructively to find a solution that addresses the issues raised,” Meta said in a statement.
