Europe, UK hit Facebook with formal antitrust investigations

Regulators in Europe and the United Kingdom on Friday announced they have launched formal competition investigations into Facebook in a two-front offensive on the social media giant’s use of data to dominate markets.

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority said it’s investigating whether Facebook is “abusing a dominant position in the social media or digital advertising markets through its collection and use of advertising data.” Specifically, the agency said it’s probing whether Facebook has gained an unfair advantage in the digital classified advertisements business through Facebook Marketplace, and in its online dating business, Facebook Dating.