BREAKING: Federal Judge Throws Out Antitrust Lawsuits Against Facebook

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A federal judge has thrown out lawsuits filed against Facebook by federal and state officials alleging monopolistic practices on the part of the tech giant.

Judge James E. Boasberg on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Monday, June 28, dismissed two lawsuits filed against Facebook — one by the Federal Trade Commission, and another filed separately by attorneys general of 46 states, the territory of Guam and the District of Columbia.

In Boasberg’s order on the FTC case, he said federal enforcers failed to properly demonstrate that Facebook has monopoly power in social media.

“These allegations — which do not even provide an estimated actual figure or range for Facebook’s market share at any point over the past ten years — ultimately fall short of plausibly establishing that Facebook holds market power,” Boasberg said, per The Washington Post.

While the FTC’s complaint was dismissed, the case remains alive, for now — Boasberg said in his order the FTC has 30 days to file a new complaint.

The attorney generals’ lawsuit claimed Facebook pursued a systemic strategy in going after competition, and pointed to the company’s purchases of Instagram and WhatsApp in the last decade.

In dismissing their lawsuit, Boasberg noted Facebook purchased those companies in 2012 and 2014, respectively — long before the lawsuits were filed.

“The court is aware of no case, and plaintiffs provide none, where such a long delay in seeking such a consequential remedy has been countenanced in a case brought by a plaintiff other than the federal government, against which laches does not apply and to which the federal antitrust laws grant unique authority as sovereign law enforcer,” the order said, according to Law360. “If laches is to mean anything, it must apply on these facts, even in a suit brought by states.”

The news sent Facebook’s stock up by 4.2%, according to The New York Times.

What do you think of the federal judge’s ruling in these cases? Let us know in the comments below!

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