Joint inquiry to consider if Facebook stifles competition on Marketplace and Dating platform.
UK and EU regulators are investigating Facebook's misuse of its power in digital advertising.
It marks the first time that regulators have linked to major investigations since Brexit, and Facebook's revenue-generating strikes, which rely heavily on advertising advertising on its platform.
The investigation will look at whether the media giant misused its big data to compete with individuals and businesses that advertise on the Facebook Marketplace - where people buy and sell goods daily - or the Facebook Dating platform, launched in Europe last year.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has said it will work "closely" with the European Commission to determine whether Facebook could block the competition "by abusing a prominent position on social media or digital advertising markets".
Facebook, which could be fined by regulators for their results, said the investigation was launched "without merit".
The platform, which was established in 2004 by its current chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, is operated by an estimated 3 million people a month, with about 7m firms advertising the entire platform.
The European Commission has said that Facebook has been able to collect "huge amounts" of data through its social network and beyond, thanks to login credentials that allow users to log in to other websites using their Facebook account. That data enables it to identify specific groups of customers that can make it difficult for competitors to compete, the regulator added.
Meanwhile, Facebook marketing companies are also providing important information, which the regulator said could be used by Facebook to "win" those firms.
"In today's digital economy, data should not be used in ways that disrupt competition," said EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager.
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This is the CMA's third investigation into potential online competition violations, after a cautious spy opened an investigation into Google's plans to remove third-party cookies and other functionality from its Chrome browser earlier this year. The UK regulator is also looking into whether Apple has set the wrong terms and conditions for developers trying to access its App Store.
Responding to a joint survey, Facebook said: “We are constantly building new and better services to meet the changing needs of Facebook users. Marketplace and Dating offer people a wide selection and both of these products operate in a highly competitive environment with many great positions.
"We will continue to co-operate fully with the investigation to show that it is not a problem."
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