July 9 EST: Meta’s advertising empire is coming under renewed pressure in France, where antitrust regulators have accused the company of using its market position to box out competition in the digital ad space. The move marks a significant escalation in what’s become a slow-burning confrontation between Big Tech and European oversight.
On Tuesday, France’s competition authority issued a formal statement of objections—a first step toward potential penalties—alleging that Meta restricted access to third-party ad verification firms. In practice, that means advertisers trying to audit where their money goes may have been forced to rely on Meta’s own tools, rather than neutral players.
The core allegation isn’t new: Meta has long been accused of keeping the ad ecosystem closed while selling itself as open. What’s changed is that regulators now seem ready to back those claims with enforcement.
How the Case Took Shape
This particular complaint dates back to October 2022, when French firm Adloox, later acquired by Scope3, accused Meta of denying access to its ad inventory unless certain internal conditions were met—conditions critics say were designed to keep competitors at bay.
France’s regulator agreed something was off. In May 2023, it imposed interim measures ordering Meta to update its verification partner policies. Now, with this week’s filing, officials are suggesting the issue wasn’t just poor oversight—it may have been a strategic move to marginalize rivals in one of the most lucrative corners of digital commerce.
Meta, for its part, says it’s played by the rules and is contesting the claims. A spokesperson said the company remains committed to “working constructively with regulators,” a familiar refrain from a firm that’s increasingly fielding legal fire across Europe.
Lawsuits, Trials, and a European Tightrope
The French probe isn’t happening in a vacuum. In April, three major French broadcasters—TF1, France Télévisions, and BFM TV—filed lawsuits accusing Meta of leveraging its audience data and algorithmic muscle to undercut traditional media’s advertising business.
Similar complaints have surfaced in Spain, where Meta faces a €551 million trial this fall brought by more than 80 publishers. The common thread: legacy media outlets claim Meta is eating their ad lunch using data they can’t match, and doing so while setting its own rules for measurement, access, and verification.
Add in the Digital Markets Act, which hit Meta with a €200 million fine in April for its “pay-or-consent” privacy model, and the story becomes clearer. European regulators aren’t just reacting to complaints—they’re building a coordinated legal strategy to dial back platform dominance in online advertising.
What’s Really at Stake
While Tuesday’s objection doesn’t carry fines or penalties—yet—it puts Meta on the defensive at a time when its margins are already under pressure. The company makes the vast majority of its revenue from ads. If regulators start mandating broader access to data or third-party tools, that could chip away at Meta’s competitive edge.
The risk isn’t just legal; it’s structural. If Meta is forced to open its walled garden of ad services, it could lose the control that allows it to bundle audience targeting, placement, and verification into a single product. That’s a core pitch to advertisers—and one the company has spent years refining.
The Autorité de la concurrence now has months to review Meta’s response. Any final decision would be binding in France and could serve as a precedent across the EU. The company can appeal or negotiate remedies, but the pressure to settle—and to offer concessions—will mount quickly if regulators elsewhere follow suit.
In the meantime, Meta is still operating under the interim rules imposed last year. But make no mistake: what’s happening in France is being watched closely by lawyers, regulators, and CFOs across the continent. If the adtech gears start turning differently in Paris, the ripple effects could be felt in boardrooms from Berlin to Brussels.
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A Wall Street veteran turned investigative journalist, Marcus brings over two decades of financial insight into boardrooms, IPOs, corporate chess games, and economic undercurrents. Known for asking uncomfortable questions in comfortable suits.
