The General Court of the European Union annulled the European Commission's "gatekeeper" designation for Facebook Marketplace, finding that the EU executive failed to adequately justify the designation.
The court's ruling, issued on Wednesday in Luxembourg, annuls, in part, a September 2023 decision by the Commission designating Meta as a gatekeeper — a decision the Big Tech company challenged specifically regarding Messenger and Marketplace.
What does the decision mean?
In the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA), "gatekeeping" refers to control over the entry point businesses must pass through to reach customers online.
For example, if you are a small business trying to sell second-hand goods online and Facebook Marketplace is so dominant that you effectively have to use it to reach your customers, then Meta is the gatekeeper. It controls the digital gate between you and your potential buyers, and can set the terms on which you pass through.
