Mar 19 • 08:43 UTC 🇱🇻 Latvia LSM

The Competition Council imposes a fine of €186,780 on 'ss.lv' for hindering the development of a competing platform

The Competition Council of Latvia has fined 'SS' €186,780 for abusing its dominant market position in the online advertisement service sector.

The Competition Council (KP) of Latvia has concluded that SIA 'SS' holds a dominant position in the online advertisement service market, accounting for more than 60% of all advertisement platforms based on the number of ads posted. In contrast, the next largest competitor, Facebook Marketplace, has a market share of only 15%. Following an investigation, it was determined that 'SS' had abused its market power by implementing exclusionary practices against its customers from March 13, 2020, to May 27, 2021. During this period, the company deleted and blocked user advertisement accounts on its online platforms 'ss.lv' and 'ss.com' if users posted ads on the competing platform 'pp.lv' operated by SIA 'Inbokss'. Furthermore, 'SS' would create obstacles if users attempted to post ads while indicating an email address from 'inbox.lv'.

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