Avoiding Monopoly, Facebook Commits To Providing Access To Data On The Online Advertising Sector In France

Facebook, share online advertising data in France.

JAKARTA - France's anti-trust watchdog said on Thursday, June 16 that it had approved commitments made by Facebook owner Meta Platforms Inc. regarding the online advertising sector in France.

According to the French regulator, Meta has committed to providing access over a five-year period to ad inventory and campaign data to what the advertising technology company calls transparent, objective and predictable conditions.

"This is the first time that Meta has made a commitment to the competition authorities (over the advertising sector)," said Henri Piffaut, deputy chairman of the French Competition Authority.

While Facebook itself did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The antitrust decision follows a complaint by French online advertising group Criteo.

Meta provides access to advertising data through Meta Business Partners and has committed that ad technology companies can access it when spend levels are met on its interface.

The commitments made by Meta apply to ad inventory across all Meta platforms, including Facebook and Instagram.

According to the Authority, the commitment also applies to ad technology companies that participate in at least one ad campaign viewed by Meta users in France, the authority said.

Advertising technology companies can also take advantage of data collected online to participate in online advertising campaigns, which aim to target Internet users with messages tailored to their tastes.

The general aim of antitrust authorities is to offer non-discriminatory market conditions to the growing number of companies emerging in the online sector.

"You can develop an ecosystem but you shouldn't exclude competitors," says Piffaut.