The German regulatory agency on Wednesday placed Meta, owner of Facebook, Whatsapp and Instagram, under increased surveillance to study and reinforce possible abuses.
The Federal Office of Cartels indicated that it had determined that Meta was a company “of paramount importance” in the markets, which opens the way for the authorities to punish “eventual infringements against free competition”.
At the moment, there are already two investigations opened by the German regulator that affect Zuckerberg’s group.
Meta joins Google in being placed under increased surveillance under a January 2021 German free competition law.
“The digital ecosystem created by Meta has a large user base and makes the company a key player in social networks”, said the head of the Federal Office of Cartels, Andreas Mundt.
Having determined the paramount importance of the Goal, the regulator “has the capacity to intervene against any infringement of free competition in a more effective way than through the instruments that have been available to us until now”, he added.
Tech giants are being subjected to increasing surveillance around the world due to their dominance and tax practices.
