The German Federal Cartel Office, Bundeskartellamt, said it is expanding the investigation into Facebook and its links with Oculus in light of new rules on competition. The competition authority is investigating whether the new regulations that relates to companies with paramount cross-market importance for competition (Section 19a GWB) apply to Facebook, and whether the link between the services can be measured under this rule. Andreas Mundt, the President of the Cartel Office, said that it is the first procedure opened under the new rules with a view to the strong market presence of Facebook through the social network, WhatsApp and Instagram.
In December, the Federal Cartel Office opened a proceeding against Facebook to examine the links between Oculus virtual reality products and the social media platform. Facebook has integrated the virtual reality functions of Oculus into the social network Facebook.com and requires Oculus users to have a Facebook account in order to access the services.
The German parliament approved earlier this month amendments to the competition law to regulate digital platforms, transposing EU Directive 2019/1 into national law. The law regulates abusive behaviour by companies that are of paramount, cross-market importance for competition.
