Mergers: Commission alleges Facebook provided misleading information about WhatsApp takeover

The European Commission has sent a Statement of Objections to Facebook alleging the company provided incorrect or misleading information during the Commission’s 2014 investigation under the EU Merger Regulation of Facebook’s planned acquisition of WhatsApp. The Commission takes the preliminary view that, contrary to Facebook’s statements and reply during the merger review, the technical possibility of automatically matching Facebook users’ IDs with WhatsApp users’ IDs already existed in 2014. The current investigation is limited to the assessment of breaches of procedural rules. As the Commission’s October 2014 decision to clear Facebook/WhatsApp was based on a variety of factors going beyond the possibility of matching user accounts, the current investigation will not have an impact on that decision which remains effective. Facebook now has now until 31 January 2017 to respond to the Statement of Objections. Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, in charge of competition policy, said: “Companies are obliged to give the Commission accurate information during merger investigations. They must take this obligation seriously. Our timely and effective review of mergers depends on the accuracy of the information provided by the companies involved. In this specific case, the Commission’s preliminary view is that Facebook gave us incorrect or misleading information during the investigation into its acquisition of WhatsApp. Facebook now has the opportunity to respond.”