The European Court annuls the designation of Facebook Marketplace as a gatekeeper, not due to Meta's innocence, but because of procedural errors by the Commission. Brussels did its homework wrong, and the judges are punishing it. The result: regulation loses strength, tech companies gain time, and citizens are left with less protection against abusive practices. ⚖️
The substance gets lost in the case file sheets 📄
The ruling does not discuss whether Meta abuses its position, but whether the Commission followed the correct manual when opening the case. Administrative failures allow the company to dodge the substance of the matter. While lawyers debate deadlines and forms, the platform continues selling data, imposing conditions, and crushing competitors. Technology advances faster than legal bureaucracy.
Brussels boasts muscle, but fails to flex it 💪
The EU presents itself as the sheriff taming tech giants. But when the papers are poorly stapled, the sheriff looks more like an intern with a hangover. Meta hires the best law firms not to prove its innocence, but to win on formalities. Because in the end, in court, the only thing that matters is whether the file has the signature in the right place.