Facebook, like any other major tech company, is no stranger to facing multiple lawsuits at any given moment. However, the recent string of lawsuits from the US federal regulators and more than 45 state prosecutors appears to be a real threat as they seek to break up the company over anti competitive practices.
According to a BBC report, the lawsuit being faced by the social media giant is accusing the company of taking illegal actions to buy up its rivals to stifle competition. Thus, the officials are also asking the court to consider breaking up the company, which also owns other major social media platforms like Instagram and WhatsApp as well. Facebook stated that the deals that are under scrutiny now were approved by the regulators years ago.
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As per Jennifer Newstead, Facebook general counsel, “The government now wants a do-over, sending a chilling warning to American business that no sale is ever final.” She further added that the company has invested millions into both Instagram and Whatsapp and would “vigorously” fight any attempts to break the company apart. Facebook also said that “Antitrust laws exist to protect consumers and promote innovation, not to punish successful businesses,” however, the government’s arguments seems like “revisionist history.”
At the moment, the lawsuits filed by the different states and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) are targeting the company’s 2012 acquisition of Instagram and 2014 purchase of WhatsApp. The lawsuits accuses the company of following the method of “buy or bury” towards any potential rival. This effectively hurts competition as every major or popular platform falls under one major corporation. The officials even brought up the various acts of data collection, citing that users have lost control of their own data to support revenue streams from advertising.
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