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The Competition Council rules against Meta

The Danish Competition Council has found that Meta, which owns Facebook, breached the Platform-to-Business (P2B) Regulation by treating a Danish clothing store unfairly. Facebook was an important marketing and sales channel for the business. However, after its profile was hacked, Meta did not respond to the clothing store’s request to reopen its Facebook page, despite approaches from the store’s lawyer and the police.

Chair of the Danish Competition Council, Christian Schultz, says:

For an individual business, it can be critical if the Facebook Page the company uses as a sales channel suddenly stops working and Meta does not act quickly to solve the issues. It was only after we intervened in the case, and almost two years after the hacking incident, that Meta took the business user seriously and resolved the problem. The P2B Regulation protects businesses against unfair treatment when there is an imbalance in power.
This case involving the Danish clothing retailer shows that digital platforms must treat the businesses present on them in a fair and transparent manner. There are rules requiring Meta to give notice and a statement of reasons if it intends to cease providing its service to its business users. In addition, Meta is required to have an effective internal complaint‑handling system. Meta failed to comply with these rules.
The Competition Council’s decision may have significant implications for many companies. Among other things, the decision makes clear that Meta’s failure to respond to the business user’s repeated requests constitutes a decision attributable to Meta, for which Meta must be held accountable.

The Competition Council has decided that Meta Platforms Ireland Limited infringed the P2B Regulation’s requirements to provide a statement of reasons in cases of suspension and to ensure effective internal complaint handling. P2B stands for Platform‑to‑Business.

Meta:

  • did not provide the Danish clothing retailer, Clothing By Ros ApS, with a statement of reasons for Meta’s decision to suspend the provision of its online intermediation service (Facebook) to Clothing By Ros.
  • did not give Clothing By Ros the opportunity to understand the reasons for the suspension within the framework of Meta’s internal complaint‑handling system.
  • did not ensure that the handling of Clothing By Ros’s complaint took place within a reasonable time frame, in accordance with the complaint‑handling requirements in the P2B Regulation.

The Competition Council has ordered Meta to comply going forward with the rules on statements of reasons and complaint handling set out in Articles 4 and 11 of the P2B Regulation.

Background to the case

Clothing By Ros is a Danish company that used Facebook as a marketing and sales channel.

Around 1 September 2023, Clothing By Ros lost access to and control over the company’s Facebook Page and Group following a hacking incident.

The retailer immediately contacted Meta regarding the loss of access. Meta assured the retailer that it would resolve the issue and revert as soon as possible. However, the retailer did not hear back from Meta until 18 October 2023, when Meta stated that the case would be closed.

The retailer lodged a complaint in March 2024 with the Danish Competition and Consumer Authority’s Center for Tech, and on 9 July 2025 Meta restored access to the retailer’s Facebook Page and Group after the Authority had contacted Meta about the case.

Press contact

Contact the Head of Communications at the Danish Competition and Consumer Authority, Hanne Arentoft, tel. +45 41 71 50 98.

Advice for businesses that market or sell via Facebook, Instagram or other digital platforms

  • Know your rights as a business on a digital platform. The P2B rules are intended to protect businesses that use digital platforms to offer their products and services to consumers.
  • If the platform restricts, suspends or terminates your access to the platform’s services, you are entitled to receive a statement of reasons.
  • Keep your correspondence with the platform if problems arise. This will enable you to document what has happened.
  • Use the platform’s complaint-handling system. Larger platforms must have an internal complaint-handling system that you can use free of charge. If this does not resolve the problem, you can submit a complaint to the Danish Competition and Consumer Authority’s Centre for Tech by telephone on +45 41 71 50 00 or email: kfst@kfst.dk. Or file a complaint (virk.dk)

The P2B rules

  • P2B stands for Platform-to-Business. The rules are intended to promote transparency, fairness and effective redress, especially for small and medium-sized businesses that sell via digital marketplaces.
  • The P2B rules consist of an EU Regulation, which has applied since July 2020, and the Danish P2B Act, which implements the P2B Regulation in Denmark.
  • The competition authority, comprising the Danish Competition Council and the Danish Competition and Consumer Authority, enforces the P2B rules in Denmark.
  • The P2B Regulation does not apply to all digital platforms, but only to providers of two specific services: online intermediation services and online search engines.
  • The P2B rules mean that digital platforms must comply with a number of obligations, including obligations to:
    • ensure transparency in their general terms and conditions.
    • provide a statement of reasons if the platform restricts, suspends or terminates services vis-à-vis businesses.
    • provide information on how search results are ranked.
    • provide information on who has access to data generated on the platform.
    • provide an effective and free internal complaint-handling system.
  • In Denmark, infringements of the P2B rules may initially be sanctioned by orders. If the platform does not comply with the order, this may result in a fine.

The competition authority’s work in the digital area

  • The Danish Competition Council and the Danish Competition and Consumer Authority together form an independent competition authority that publishes analyses and guidance and adopts decisions, including in the digital area.
  • The competition authority enforces a range of rules vis-à-vis digital platforms and tech companies:
    • The Danish Competition Act, which aims to ensure effective competition, including in digital markets.
    • The Platform-to-Business Regulation, P2B, which gives businesses that sell via digital platforms the right to transparency and fair terms.
    • In addition, the Danish Competition and Consumer Authority assists the European Commission in the enforcement of the EU Digital Markets Act, known as the DMA. The Regulation lays down rules for the largest digital gatekeepers in order to ensure contestability and fairness. Among other things, the competition authority can receive complaints and carry out investigations in this area.

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