Feds want Facebook split up
Target social media giant with antitrust suits
WASHINGTON — Federal regulators on Wednesday sued Facebook, seeking forced divestment of its Instagram and WhatsApp messaging services.
In a separate case, 48 states districts including Massachusetts accused the company of abusing its market power in social networking to crush smaller competitors.
The antitrust lawsuits were announced by the Federal Trade Commission and New York Attorney General
Letitia James.
“It’s really critically important that we block this predatory acquisition of companies and that we restore confidence to the market,” James said during a press conference announcing the lawsuit.
The FTC said Facebook has engaged in a “a systematic strategy” to eliminate its competition, including by purchasing smaller up-andcoming rivals like Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014.
“For nearly a decade, Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg ran an illegal monopoly in the social media sphere by buying out companies that showed promise as potential competitors and blocking others — and they did this at the expense of their users’ time and privacy,” Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey said. “We are suing to stand up for the millions of consumers and small businesses that have been harmed by Facebook’s illegal business practices.”
Facebook is the world’s biggest social network with 2.7 billion users and a company with a market value of nearly $800 billion. Its CEO Mark Zuckerberg is the world’s fifth-richest individual and the most public face of Big Tech swagger. Facebook did not have immediate comment.
James alleged Facebook had a practice of opening its site to third-party app developers, then abruptly cutting off developers that it saw as a threat. The lawsuit accuses Facebook of anti-competitive conduct and using its market dominance to harvest consumer data and reap a fortune in advertising revenues.
James said the coalition worked collaboratively with the FTC but noted the attorneys general conducted their investigation separately.
Tech industry group NetChoice panned the lawsuits, saying the actions are “more about advancing ambition than consumer interests.”
“The case for antitrust enforcement against Facebook has never been weaker as new social media and digital ad providers like TikTok and Snapchat overtake older services,” said Carl Szabo, Vice President and General Counsel of NetChoice.