Meta loses EU court fight over Messenger ‘gatekeeper’ label

In a significant ruling, Meta has suffered a legal setback at the hands of the European Union’s General Court regarding the Facebook parent company’s status as a “gatekeeper” under the Digital Markets Act (DMA).

On Wednesday, the EU’s second-highest court upheld Meta platforms’ fight against the labelling of its Marketplace designation.

The judges found that the European Commission had not provided sufficient reasoning for classifying Marketplace as a "core platform service.”

‌General ⁠Court’s ruling stated, "The decision does ​not satisfy the requirements in terms ⁠of reasoning as regards Marketplace, in ​that it allows neither Meta to understand ​the reasons for its classification as a core platform service that is an online intermediation service ​nor the Courts of the European ​Union to exercise their power of review.”

When it came to challenge the same designation for its messaging app Messenger, the court rejected it.

As per ruling, Messenger will continue to be classified as gatekeeper service under EU regulations.

"The Commission did not err ​in finding that Messenger individually is an important gateway," ​judges said.

As a result of this ruling, Meta’s platform will be subjected to stringent requirements regarding interoperability and other neutrality measures required by the DMA.

It will also be obliged to adhere to the rules regarding market competition, consumer choice protection, including allowing third-party apps to function on their platforms and making it easier for users to switch to rival services.

Earlier, the European Commission designated both services as essential gateways for businesses to reach consumers under DMA as they meet the specific quantitative criteria.

Consequently, Meta filed its complaint regarding the statuses to the Luxembourg-based tribunal.

Meta company spokesperson responded to the ruling, citing, "We welcome the Court's judgment on Marketplace, which confirms that it should not have been designated in the first place. We are reviewing the Court’s finding ​on Messenger ​and will consider ⁠our options.”