FTC sues Facebook again for ‘inhibiting competition’

On August 19 (local time), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sued Facebook again for violating antitrust laws. The FTC alleges that CEO Mark Zuckerberg is hampering competition with a strategy of illegally acquiring or buying-or-burying the company.

The lawsuit between the FTC and Facebook was originally filed in December 2020, demanding the division and sale of businesses such as Instagram and WhatsApp, arguing that it would hinder competition. Then, in June, the claim that Facebook monopolized personal social media was rejected because there was not enough evidence. However, it was decided that only the contents of the complaint could be corrected and resubmitted in the case of rejection.

According to a new argument made by the FTC, Facebook used its power and money to illegally acquire or liquidate its competitors if its independent attempts to introduce new features failed. He also accused Facebook of honing its surveillance advertising model.

The company said it lacked the business acumen and technical talent to survive the mobile transition, and its failure to compete with new innovators made it illegal to acquire or leave Facebook when its popularity was on the verge of collapse. He added that the work remains anti-competitive compared to when Facebook stopped competing by bribing a new app competitor.

The FTC says Facebook’s behavior is affecting the social media experience by stifling technological innovation and product quality improvement following spurious advertisements or malicious privacy policies.

Facebook acquired Instagram, a photo SNS that was growing in 2012, and bought it in 2014, paying attention to the popularity of WhatsApp, a messenger app. The FTC claims that Facebook owns at least three of the most used social media platforms, so they suspect that it is trying to narrow consumer options.

In response to this re-suing, Facebook said that it is regrettable that the FTC chose to continue the lawsuit without merit through its official account. said it was Related information can be found here.