On Wednesday, the Federal Trade Commission and 48 state attorneys general launched twin lawsuits against Facebook for alleged antitrust violations.
New York Attorney General Letitia James, who leads the coalition of states suing Facebook, released a statement: “Facebook has used its monopoly power to crush smaller rivals and snuff out competition, all at the expense of everyday users.” Facebook responded to the FTC suit: “Years after the FTC cleared our acquisitions, the government now wants a do-over with no regard for the impact that precedent would have on the … business community or the people who choose our products every day.”
The lawsuit comes the same day that the FTC announced a separate suit against the social media giant, also accusing it of anti-competitive practices.
FTC’s lawsuit alleged that the company illegally maintained its “monopoly” through years of anticompetitive practices.
“Personal social networking is central to the lives of millions of Americans,” Ian Conner, the director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition, said in a statement. “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.”
In response to the filings, Facebook tweeted out, “We’re reviewing the complaints & will have more to say soon. Years after the FTC cleared our acquisitions, the government now wants a do-over with no regard for the impact that precedent would have on the broader business community or the people who choose our products every day.”
We will update this story as information is released.