FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION CAN PROCEED WITH LAWSUIT AIMING TO BREAK UP FACEBOOK

US COMPETITION watchdog the

Federal Trade Commission (FTC) can proceed with a break-up lawsuit against Facebook’s owner, a federal judge has ruled, The Guardian reported.

Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta, the parent of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, had asked a court to dismiss an antitrust complaint brought by the FTC for the second time. However, Judge James Boasberg said this week that the

FTC’s revised lawsuit should be allowed to proceed, the report said. “Ultimately, whether the FTC will be able to prove its case and prevail at summary judgment and trial is anyone’s guess. The court declines to engage in such speculation and simply concludes that at this motionto-dismiss stage, where the FTC’s allegations are treated as true, the agency has stated a plausible claim for relief,” wrote Boasberg of the US District Court, The Guardian reported. The FTC, under new chairperson, Lina Khan, wants to force Meta to sell its photo-sharing app Instagram and its messaging service WhatsApp in one of the biggest challenges the government has brought against a tech company in decades.

Its lawsuit accuses Meta of pursuing a “course of anti-competitive conduct”, the report added. The FTC had originally sued Facebook during the Donald Trump administration, and its complaint was rejected by the court in June. The agency filed an amended complaint in August, adding more detail on the accusation that the social media company had crushed or bought rivals. |