US Government And 48 States Sue Facebook In Major Antitrust Actions

The US Federal Trade Commission and the coalition of states are suing Facebook, alleging that the social media giant had illegally impeded the competition by snapping up rivals to protect its monopoly power hold in social networking.

According to The Guardian, one lawsuit brings together nearly every state in the USA in a legal coalition led by New York’s attorney general, Letitia James.

“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,” James said in a statement.

The combined actions focus on Facebook’s key acquisition of Instagram, a photo-sharing service, and WhatsApp, an encrypted messaging app. The lawsuit contents that these deals sealed Facebook’s dominance in the social networking world.

“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, 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,” James said in her statement.

Facebook could be forced to sell its prized assets WhatsApp and Instagram after the filing of these lawsuits.

Facebook’s Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg told employees back in July that Facebook was preparing to “go to the mat” to fight a legal challenge to break up the company, calling it an “existential” threat, according to audio of internal company meetings that published by The Verge.