Author: Aslı Su Çoruk
Introduction
The French Competition Authority (Autorité de la Concurrence), within the scope of the competition law proceeding initiated upon the complaint of Criteo SA (“Criteo”), accepted the commitments proposed by Meta Platforms Inc., Meta Platforms Ireland Ltd., and Facebook France (together “Meta”) in order to address the competitive concerns in the French market regarding the online advertising sector. The decision is noteworthy as it demonstrates Meta’s strong position in the social media and advertising services market. It is also significant as the decision constitutes the first case where a worldwide competition authority has accepted commitments proposed by Meta.
Information on the Undertakings
The complainant Criteo is a French company operating in the field of online advertising. By means of the technologies it has developed, it provides advertising mediation services to its customers in order to improve the placement of their ads on various platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, through the retargeting method.
Meta, on the other hand, offers a variety of products and services to internet users, advertisers and developers. Meta provides advertisers with its own ad inventory (Facebook, Instagram and Messenger). Additionally, it provides publishers with the Meta Audience Network advertising network service.
