Agency takes another stab at Facebook antitrust suit
WASHINGTON — The Federal Trade Commission took new aim at Facebook on Thursday, beefing up its accusations that the company was a monopoly that illegally crushed competition, in an attempt to overcome the skepticism of a federal judge who threw out the agency’s original case two months ago.
The suit submitted Thursday contains the same overall arguments as the original, saying that Facebook’s acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp were made to create a “moat” around its monopoly in social networking. But the updated suit is nearly twice as long and includes more facts and analysis that the agency says better support the government’s allegations.
“Facebook lacked the business acumen and technical talent to survive the transition to mobile,” Holly Vedova, the acting director of the bureau of competition at the agency, said in a statement. “After failing to compete with new innovators, Facebook illegally bought or buried them when their popularity became an existential threat.”
Facebook said the FTC was attempting to revive a meritless lawsuit and said it will vigorously defend itself against what it said is an effort to rewrite antitrust laws.
“There was no valid claim that Facebook was a monopolist — and that has not changed,“the company based in Menlo Park said in a statement.
The agency had to refile the case after the judge overseeing it said in June that the government had not provided enough evidence that Facebook was a monopoly. The judge’s decision, and a similar one he made in a case against the company brought by more than 40 states, dealt a stunning blow to regulators’ attempts to rein in Big Tech.
Although tech companies dominate the markets they are in — social media, in the case of Facebook — the courts often look at whether prices are rising as an indication of monopolization. Facebook’s most popular services are free.