REFILE-Meta to challenge EU antitrust charges at hearing on July 13

(Corrected first paragraph to say Thursday, not Friday)

By Foo Yun Chee

BRUSSELS, July 12 (Reuters) – Facebook owner Meta will contest EU antitrust allegations at a closed meeting on Thursday. This is intended to avoid a possible hefty fine imposed on him by regulators after they accused him of linking his classified ads service to the social networking site, people familiar with the matter said.

In December last year, the European Commission sent an indictment to the world’s most popular social networking site, pointing out two practices that showed Meta abusing its market position.

It was found that Meta’s linking of the classifieds website Facebook Marketplace with the social network Facebook gave the former an undue advantage.

The company also questioned Meta’s unfair trading terms applied to rival classifieds sites that advertise on Facebook and Instagram.

Meta declined to comment on the hearing, where senior Antitrust Commission officials and their colleagues from national regulators will be present to hear her arguments.

“The European Commission’s claims are baseless. We will continue to work with regulators to demonstrate that our product innovations are pro-consumer and pro-competitive,” Meta’s attorney, Tim Lamb, said in a statement.

The company could be fined up to 10% of its global turnover and ordered to change its business practices if found guilty of violating EU antitrust rules. It had previously sought a settlement in the case, people familiar with the matter told Reuters.

(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee, editing by Nick Zieminski)