Brussels, 03/06/2026 (Agence Europe) – The General Court of the European Union annulled the European Commission’s September 2023 decision (see EUROPE 13244/3), which had designated the US group Meta, which operates platform services such as Facebook, Messenger and Marketplace, as a ‘gatekeeper’ under the DMA on digital markets (2022/1925), in a judgment delivered on Wednesday 3 June (Case T-1078/23).
Meta is challenging the Commission decision, taken in particular on the basis of the quantitative regulatory thresholds (45 million monthly users in the EU, 10,000 business users) laid down in the DMA, in so far as it classifies Messenger and Marketplace as important gateways within the meaning of EU law.In its judgment, the General Court rules in favour of Meta only as regards the online intermediation service Marketplace.
According to the Court, the Commission erred in law in considering that it could rely solely on data relating to the three years preceding the designation and without taking account of changes made at the end of July 2023. Those changes consisted in limiting the number of advertisements that could be published by each user, and they resulted in the disappearance of the criterion used to identify business users.
Moreover, the General Court considers that the decision is inadequately reasoned. The Commission did not set out any concrete analysis of the changes made by Meta, nor did it explain their impact on its conclusion that Marketplace enabled business users to offer goods or services to consumers, a necessary condition for it to be classified as an online intermediation service.
As regards Messenger, the General Court confirms that it constitutes a ‘number-independent interpersonal communications service’ (instant messaging, chat applications, or audio and video call applications), distinct from the Facebook social network and benefiting from specific tools allowing businesses to interact with users.
According to the General Court, the Commission did not err in not opening a market investigation before considering Messenger to be an important gateway on the basis of the quantitative regulatory thresholds.
See the General Court judgment (in French): https://aeur.eu/f/m5y (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)