The FTC Isn’t Giving Up on Facebook Antitrust Lawsuit

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Facebook Antitrust Lawsuit Overview:

• Who: The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it will file an amended lawsuit against tech giant Facebook. 
• Why: The regulator wants to hold Facebook accountable for an alleged monopoly it has on social media. 
• Where: The amended Facebook antitrust lawsuit will be lodged in DC federal court. 

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) voted 3-2 Thursday to submit an amended antitrust lawsuit against Facebook that alleges that the company has monopolized social networking.

U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg dismissed two lawsuits filed against Facebook — one by the FTC in June, and another filed separately by attorneys general of 46 states, the territory of Guam and the District of Columbia.

In Judge Boasberg’s order on the FTC case, he said federal enforcers failed to properly demonstrate that Facebook has monopoly power in social media beyond “the naked allegation” that Facebook has a dominant share of the social media market.

Regulator Bolsters Facebook Antitrust Claims

Now, the FTC says that it has “multiple metrics,” including daily and monthly active users and time spent, to show the company’s dominance in the Facebook antitrust lawsuit, Law360 reports.

The FTC said the new claim “includes additional data and evidence to support the FTC’s contention that Facebook is a monopolist that abused its excessive market power to eliminate threats to its dominance.”

“The suit also provides new direct evidence that Facebook has the power to control prices or exclude competition; significantly reduce the quality of its offering to users without losing a significant number of its users or a meaningful amount of user engagement; and exclude competition by driving actual or potential competitors out of business,” the FTC said. The agency added that the new metrics it had gathered showed the company had had monopoly power since at least 2011.

According to the amended Facebook antitrust complaint: “Facebook has maintained its monopoly position in significant part by pursuing Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg’s strategy, expressed in 2008: ‘it is better to buy than compete.’ True to that maxim, Facebook has systematically tracked potential rivals and acquired companies that it viewed as serious competitive threats.”

In the FTC’s announcement of its amended complaint, the agency also said it “carefully reviewed” Facebook’s request for FTC Chair Lisa Khan to be recused from the vote on the lawsuit due to previously expressed views, but had decided to dismiss the company’s petition.

“As the case will be prosecuted before a federal judge, the appropriate constitutional due process protections will be provided to the company. The Office of the Secretary has dismissed the petition,” the FTC said.

Facebook will now return to both D.C. federal and circuit courts, as the state attorneys general have sought a revival for their lawsuit against the company as well.

What do you think about the FTC and state leaders reviving the antitrust lawsuits against Facebook? Let us know in the comments section!

The FTC is represented by Daniel J. Matheson, Robert Zuver, Maria Dimoscato, Eric Cochran, Henry Hauser, Mitchell London, Owen Masters, Michael Mikawa, Noel Miller, David Owyang, Mark Silvia, Michael Smith, Rebecca Weinstein and Sylvia Zhange. 

The Facebook Antitrust Lawsuits are FTC v. Facebook Inc., Case No. 1:20-cv-03590, and New York et al. v. Facebook Inc., Case No. 1:20-cv-03589 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

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