The Turkish Competition Board, on Wednesday, announced its decision to fine Meta Platforms Inc. 4.8 million lira ($160,000) per day, as the tech giant failed to provide sufficient documentation relevant to a prior antitrust investigation, this year.
On January 11, 2021, an investigation was launched against Meta Platforms Inc. (previously Facebook Inc.), Meta Platforms Ireland Ltd. (previously Facebook Ireland Ltd.), WhatsApp Inc., and WhatsApp LLC. The investigation looked into WhatsApp’s data sharing practices with Facebook. The board sought to determine whether Meta violated Article 6 of the Act no 4054 on the Protection of Competition.
The competition authority concluded on October 20, 2022, that:
- Meta positioned itself dominantly in the markets for personal social network services, consumer communication services, and online display advertising; and
- Meta disrupted competition by complicating competitors’ activities and creating barriers to entry by merging data garnered from Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp services. This move was found in violation of Turkey’s Competition Act.
As a result, Meta was fined 346.7 million lira for these violations and was instructed to submit measures within a month to terminate the violations and to implement these measures within six months. Meta is also obligated to submit an annual report to the board periodically for a period of five years following the implementation of the remedial measures.
After receiving the decision on September 9, 2023, Meta initially requested an extension until December 19, 2023, to submit the measures, which was granted by the board. Although Meta adhered to the extended deadline, the authority deemed the measures insufficient.
Considering Meta’s extension and the annual gross revenues posted in 2022, the board decided to impose a fine of 4.8 million lira per day until the final compliance solution is registered.
Meta responded stating that they disagreed with the findings of the Turkish Competition Authority. However, they pledged to continue their cooperation with the authority constructively to resolve the issue promptly.
It should be noted that the Turkish Competition Authority initiated another investigation against Meta on December 12, 2023. This time, the authority is investigating its linking of Threads with Instagram for a potential violation of Article 6.