The social media Facebook in the United States is currently facing two lawsuits for anti-competitive behavior.
The lawsuit came from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the 48 Attorney General’s Union led by New York Attorney General Letitia James.
The two lawsuits are against Facebook’s two major acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp, two other social softwares. Facebook shares fell nearly 4% after the news came out.
Facebook first disclosed that the Federal Trade Commission’s antitrust investigation was in July 2019, and the Attorney General’s Union under James officially announced the investigation of Facebook soon after.
“Anything that stifles competition, hurts small businesses, reduces innovation and creativity, and cuts privacy protections will face full resistance from our (the Attorney General’s Office),” James said at a press conference on December 9.
The U.S. government and states sue Facebook for illegal monopolies
According to the Associated Press, the U.S. government and 48 states and territories sued Facebook on Wednesday, accusing it of abusing market power in the social network to suppress smaller competitors and seeking remedial measures, which may include forcibly divesing the social network’s Instagram and Whats. App message service.
The landmark antitrust lawsuit announced by the Federal Trade Commission and New York Attorney General Letitia James marks the second major government offensive this year against the seemingly unshakable technology giants.
In October, the Department of Justice sued Google for abusing its dominant position in online search and advertising. This is the most important attempt the government has made to curb competition since the historic lawsuit against Microsoft was filed 20 years ago. Amazon and Apple have also been investigating anti-competitive behavior in Congress and federal authorities.
