The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has accepted Meta’s revised proposals regarding the use of advertising data, a decision aimed at ensuring a fair competitive environment across its platforms.

The changes, which come after extensive consultation with stakeholders, mark a significant shift in how Meta will manage advertisers’ data, particularly concerning its Facebook Marketplace.

The CMA initially launched an investigation into Meta in June 2021 under the Competition Act 1998, focusing on whether the company was gaining an unfair advantage in sectors such as online classified ads and online dating by leveraging data from its vast array of advertising customers. The investigation scrutinised Meta’s practices, particularly how it might be using data from advertisers on its platforms to improve its own services, potentially disadvantageous to competitors.

In November 2023, Meta responded to these concerns by offering commitments to limit the use of advertisers’ data. Under these commitments, advertisers could opt out of having their data used to enhance Facebook Marketplace, ensuring their information was not exploited to give Meta an edge in the ecommerce space.

However, Meta later proposed a variation to these commitments, which the CMA has now accepted. The revised rules remove the need for advertisers to opt in or out, automatically ensuring that their data will not be used by Meta to benefit Facebook Marketplace. This approach, according to the CMA, provides stronger protections for advertisers and enhances the fairness of the platform.

“The CMA has concluded that the revisions go above and beyond the original commitments and would not leave any advertisers worse off,” the CMA stated in its decision. This outcome has been welcomed by many in the advertising industry, as it guarantees that businesses can advertise on Meta’s platforms without fear that their data will be used against them in the marketplace.

The acceptance of these revised commitments by the CMA also aligns with broader efforts to regulate tech giants more effectively and ensure they do not abuse their dominant market positions. This decision follows a similar case involving Amazon, where the company agreed not to use data from third-party sellers to gain a competitive advantage on its platform.

As Meta continues to implement these changes, the CMA said it will monitor compliance to ensure that the company adheres to its commitments, thereby maintaining a level playing field for all participants in the digital advertising and ecommerce sectors.

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