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According to foreign media reports on July 26, Meta will receive the first antitrust fine from the European Union within a few weeks for bundling its classified advertising service Marketplace with its social network Facebook, according to people familiar with the matter.

The European Commission accused the US tech giant a year and a half ago of bundling two services together to give its classified advertising service Facebook Marketplace an unfair advantage.

The EU competition regulator also said Meta abused its dominant position by unilaterally imposing unfair trading conditions on competing online classifieds services that advertised on Facebook or Instagram.

Meta could face a fine of up to $13.4 billion, equivalent to 10% of its global revenue in 2023, although EU sanctions are typically well below that cap.

The European Commission is likely to issue a decision in September or October before EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager leaves in November, although it could still be delayed, people familiar with the matter said. The European Commission declined to comment.

Meta reiterated earlier comments.

Meta spokesman Matt Pollard said: "The European Commission's claims are without merit. We will continue to work constructively with regulators to demonstrate that our product innovations are good for consumers and good for competition."

The company tried to resolve an EU investigation last year by limiting Facebook Marketplace’s use of rivals’ advertising data, but the concession was rejected by EU enforcers, other sources told Reuters.

The UK competition watchdog has accepted a similar proposal, and Meta was accused by the commission this month of failing to comply with landmark technology rules for a pay-or-consent advertising model it introduced in November.