#DeleteFacebook is trending on Twitter, which is ironic since Twitter is arguably worse. The anti-trust lawsuit against Facebook is bringing out the anger of the invisible mob on social media. They need a new target as Donald Trump fades away.
Everyone is after Facebook — state and local regulators, the Feds, and 48 states.
The FTC and 48 states are looking to break up Facebook and its appendages What’s App and Instagram. They won’t be sorely missed. Now, let’s get Google and Twitter.
Lawsuits will paint a broad picture of a company that engaged in illegal tactics to buy or kill rivals.
What a shock. Facebook isn’t nice? Really?
Why were these mergers allowed in the first place?
The press release begins as follows:
The Federal Trade Commission today sued Facebook, alleging that the company is illegally maintaining its personal social networking monopoly through a years-long course of anticompetitive conduct. Following a lengthy investigation in cooperation with a coalition of the attorneys general of 46 states, the District of Columbia, and Guam, the complaint alleges that Facebook has engaged in a systematic strategy—including its 2012 acquisition of up-and-coming rival Instagram, its 2014 acquisition of the mobile messaging app WhatsApp, and the imposition of anti-competitive conditions on software developers—to eliminate threats to its monopoly. This course of conduct harms competition leaves consumers with few choices for personal social networking and deprives advertisers of the benefits of competition.
The FTC is seeking a permanent injunction in federal court that could, among other things: require divestitures of assets, including Instagram and WhatsApp; prohibit Facebook from imposing anticompetitive conditions on software developers and require Facebook to seek prior notice and approval for future mergers and acquisitions.
“Personal social networking is central to the lives of millions of Americans,” said Ian Conner, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition. “Facebook’s actions to entrench and maintain its monopoly deny consumers the benefits of competition. Our aim is to roll back Facebook’s anticompetitive conduct and restore competition so that innovation and free competition can thrive.”
FTC Commissioner Rohit Chopra announced the move against the social media giant in a series of Twitter posts. Ripping into Facebook, Chopra said he has been a member since the company was founded in 2004, but said “Facebook has broken the privacy promises that initially made it popular and has become infamous for a business model prone to abuse. Facebook must understand that it is not above the law.”
Chopra’s tweets read as follows:
Today, I voted to sue @Facebook for illegal monopolization. The lawsuits filed by @FTC and 48 AGs allege that Facebook bought or buried competitive threats. Our complaints seek all relief necessary to remedy the harm, including breaking up the company.
He’s rich. He’ll be fine.
BREAKING: The FTC and 48 states seek to break up Facebook as they accuse the tech giant of becoming a social media monopoly by illegally squashing competition by buying up rivals. pic.twitter.com/pesJeJD3sJ
— Alex Salvi (@alexsalvinews) December 9, 2020
Subscribe to the Daily Newsletter
