-0.92 -0.29%. But Facebook has come under greater scrutiny since the deals were done, and the FTC launched a new investigation into the potential antitrust violations in 2019. Late last month, the company also announced plans to acquire Kustomer, an e-commerce app. The lawsuit alleges that, over the last decade, the social networking giant illegally acquired competitors in a predatory […] This article is more than 2 months old. The Federal Trade Commission urged the judge handling the agency’s antitrust lawsuit against Facebook to reject the social-media company’s request to dismiss it. The lawsuits represent the biggest antitrust cases in a generation, comparable to the lawsuit against Microsoft Corp in 1998. Have a confidential tip for our reporters? Facebook executives, including CEO Mark Zuckerberg, quickly recognised that Instagram was a vibrant and innovative personal social network and an existential threat to Facebook's monopoly … At the heart of both antitrust actions, announced on Wednesday, is Facebook’s dominance of the social media landscape, and whether the company gobbled up potential competitors and blocked market access to others that could have eaten into its staggering market share. Instead of competing on the merits, Facebook used its power to suppress competition so it could take advantage of users and make billions by converting personal data into a cash cow.”. One lawsuit brings together nearly every state in the US, a coalition led by New York’s attorney general, Letitia James. The company has faced increasing scrutiny from lawmakers. Apple, Google, Facebook and Amazon abused monopoly power, House report says The report says the tech giants "run the marketplace while also competing in … Before it's here, it's on the Bloomberg Terminal. The filing is a response to Facebook’s argument last month that the FTC is attempting a “do-over” by trying to unwind acquisitions that won regulatory approval years ago. US Department of Justice brought charges against Google. Facebook is not a defendant in the lawsuit, and declined to comment on the allegations in it. Prosecutor says company has used power ‘to crush rivals’, with allegations centered on acquisition of Instagram and WhatsApp, First published on Wed 9 Dec 2020 15.10 EST. “Facebook’s actions to entrench and maintain its monopoly deny consumers the benefits of competition,” Ian Conner, director of the FTC’s bureau of competition, said in a statement. Facebook feared WhatsApp eroding its monopoly power, stating WhatsApp or similar products posed “the biggest competitive threat we face as a business.” Facebook was also concerned that WhatsApp could ultimately be bought by a competing behemoth that had previously shown interest in social networking — namely Google. “The businesses are nascent but the networks are established, the brands are already meaningful and if they grow to a large scale they could be disruptive to us,” Zuckerberg wrote. A lawsuit, filed by 48 attorneys general, claims that the company has a monopoly over social networking in … Facebook's 'monopoly' must be split up, US and states say in major lawsuits. In a filing opposing Facebook’s request for dismissal of that case, James argued that the company’s conduct harmed hundreds of millions of the states’ residents. No, not necessarily – the current lawsuit was filed by an affiliate of the parent company – but it could very well be a defining moment in the history of the companyIt is also the second major lawsuit against Facebook that has been brought against the company in as many months (the first being a Class Action suit). U.S. Facebook executives are also arguing that their company has helped the apps grow. Together, the buys brought the top four social media companies worldwide under Facebook’s control.The FTC cleared Facebook for the acquisitions when they occurred, and the company is hoping to leverage those approvals in mounting a defense. At the time of its acquisition, Instagram had 30 million users, and, even though it was growing rapidly, it wasn’t yet making money. The lawsuit alleges that, over the last decade, the social networking giant illegally acquired competitors in a predatory manner and cut services to smaller […] Facebook could be forced to sell off Instagram and WhatsApp under a massive lawsuit backed by 46 US states which accuses the social media giant of running an illegal monopoly. People and small businesses don’t choose to use Facebook’s free services and advertising because they have to, they use them because our apps and services deliver the most value. USD. FTC Sues Facebook Over Alleged Monopolization – What it Could Mean for Oculus. On Thursday, state Attorney General Ashley Moody took action against Facebook for its anticompetitive business practices. The FTC’s request is the latest exchange at the start of a high-stakes battle over Facebook’s future -- its attempt to hold onto Instagram and WhatsApp and to defeat the government’s attempt to force a breakup. We are going to vigorously defend people’s ability to continue making that choice.”. The suit initiated last year under the Trump administration makes a valid claim that Facebook holds monopoly power over personal social networking in the U.S. and maintains it by “acquiring competitive threats and deterring or hindering the emergence of rivals,” the FTC said in a filing late Wednesday in Washington federal court. Four children and two adults were rescued from a sinking boat off Georgia coast. Google Hit With 2nd Lawsuit Testing Its Monopoly Power — This One Over Digital Ads Ten state attorneys general accuse the tech giant of abusing its ... Facebook declined to comment on the lawsuit. “Today, we are taking action to stand up for the millions of consumers and many small businesses that have been harmed by Facebook’s illegal behavior. The efforts represent a turning of the tide as Washington and public opinion sours on big tech, which has so far enjoyed exponential growth and an almost unobstructed rise to power. The investigations already led to a lawsuit against Google, brought by the Justice Department two months ago, that accuses the search giant of illegally protecting a monopoly. EY’s Wirecard Audits Faulted by German Parliament Investigat... U.S. Regulators Warn Consumers About Peloton’s Tread+. Did Big Tech Get Too Big? The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which collaborated with the attorneys general in a years-long investigation, launched its own suit alleging that Facebook engaged in a “systematic strategy” of anticompetitive conduct. Will this lawsuit hurt Facebook’s credibility with consumers? In May, Facebook took over Giphy, a hugely popular moving-image app, with plans to integrate it with Instagram. Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google engaged in anticompetitive, monopoly-style tactics to evolve into four of the world's most powerful, unrivaled corporate behemoths, according to … The case is Federal Trade Commission v. Facebook, 20-cv-03590, U.S. District Court, District of Columbia (Washington). Tech Stocks Are Mired in Unfamiliar Territory as Market Lagg... Covid Survivors May Require Just One Shot of a Two-Dose Vacc... TSMC Says Trade Tensions Could Disrupt Supply of Chip Equipm... China’s Internet Stocks Face More Pain, Top Global Investors... SpaceX Wins NASA Moon Lander Award as Musk Beats Bezos, Company wants fight dismissed before it even begins, FTC says, Agency cites authority to challenge acquisitions ‘at any time’. On Wednesday, 48 attorneys general and the Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit against Facebook, arguing that the company is a monopoly and that it … Facebook hit with antitrust lawsuit from FTC and 48 state attorneys general. The Federal Trade Commission is suing Facebook, claiming that the company is an anti-competitive monopoly that should have Instagram and WhatsApp separated from it. “Our aim is to roll back Facebook’s anticompetitive conduct and restore competition so that innovation and free competition can thrive.”. The Federal Trade Commission today announced a new antitrust lawsuit against Facebook, alleging that the social network has used monopoly power “with … From the lawsuit: “Two of Facebook’s largest acquisitions, the mobile social photo app Instagram and the mobile messaging service WhatsApp, each posed a unique and dire threat to Facebook’s monopoly. But if the antitrust lawsuit against Facebook proves one thing, it’s that—contra Fontanel—the DOJ at least has not given up on its mission of preventing the concentration of monopoly … As Srinivasan points out, shifts in quality of service, like price, are another indicator of a company’s monopoly power. The suit accuses Facebook of abusing its market power to quash smaller competitors. “This is revisionist history,” said Facebook’s vice-president and general counsel, Jennifer Newstead, in a statement provided to the Guardian. Facebook Officials Dispute Multistate Antitrust Lawsuit . “Facebook’s actions to entrench and maintain its monopoly deny consumers the benefits of competition,” said Ian Conner, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition. Facebook Sued by States, FTC Over ‘Monopoly’ Power The Federal Trade Commission is asking a court to undo Facebook's acquisition of Instagram and WhatsApp. New York’s attorney general said Facebook ‘has used its dominance and monopoly power to crush rivals’. Each had enormous and rapidly growing user networks, and each was well positioned to encroach on Facebook’s dominant market position. Dogecoin Frenzy Overloads Robinhood Crypto Order System, U.S. Cases on the Rise; New Delhi Hits Record: Virus Update. The Federal Trade Commission urged the judge handling the agency’s antitrust lawsuit against Facebook Inc. to reject the social-media company’s request to dismiss it. Investigators spent months looking into Facebook’s acquisition of two big apps in particular: a $1bn deal to buy the photo-sharing app Instagram in 2012, and the $19bn purchase of the global messaging service WhatsApp in 2014. Facebook illegally maintains a monopoly and a breakup is on the table, says FTC lawsuit. Facebook generated revenues of more than $70bn and profits above $18.5bn in just the last year, according to the FTC’s complaint, and regulators allege that anticompetitive actions taken by the company’s executives, including Mark Zuckberg, gave them a monopoly in the market. The Federal Trade Commission urged the judge handling the agency’s antitrust lawsuit against Facebook to reject the social-media company’s request.. … New York Attorney General Letitia James on Wednesday filed a lawsuit against Facebook, Inc., alleging that the company has and continues today to illegally stifle competition to protect its monopoly power. Fires Back at Facebook’s Move to Kill Monopoly Lawsuit Joel Rosenblatt , Bloomberg News The Facebook Inc. logo sits on screens ahead of the global launch event of "Workplace" at the Facebook Inc. offices in London, U.K., on Monday, Oct. 10, 2016. U.S. Attorney General Leevin Taitano Camacho has joined a bipartisan coalition of 47 attorneys general in filing a lawsuit against Facebook Inc., alleging that the company has and continues to illegally stifle competition to protect its monopoly power. “Instead, the FTC can challenge an acquisition at any time, under any provision of law.”, New York Attorney General Letitia James is leading a similar antitrust lawsuit filed by U.S. states. “WhatsApp is on a path to connect 1 billion people,” Zuckerberg said in a statement at the time. Crackdown Seeks Answer: QuickTake, The FTC argues that Facebook is trying to get the fight thrown out “before it even begins.” The company’s “repeated observation” that the agency could have challenged the Instagram and WhatsApp acquisitions earlier is irrelevant, according to the filing.“Congress has explicitly provided that the FTC need not challenge an acquisition at its first opportunity to do so,” the FTC said in the filing. The court action alleges that the company has and continues today to illegally stifle competition to protect its monopoly power. DOJ Lawsuit: Google Abuses Its Monopoly Power Over Search The antitrust lawsuit against Google is the most significant action the federal government has taken against a … “For nearly a decade, Facebook has used its dominance and monopoly power to crush smaller rivals and snuff out competition, all at the expense of everyday users,” said James in a statement. Along with the acquisitions, the suits allege that for years Facebook created unfair conditions for third-party software developers that sought access to its platform, when those developers had the potential to develop tools that could compete with Facebook’s offerings. The lawsuits accuse Facebook of wielding monopoly power. 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