Meta seeks summary judgment in advertising monopoly lawsuit

Update:

• Meta has again asked a California federal judge to throw out a lawsuit alleging it monopolized the market for social media, arguing that despite extensive discovery the plaintiffs have not proved their case.
• The social media giant filed a motion for summary judgement Dec. 30. 
• In it, Meta argued that the group of advertisers accusing it of monopolizing the social media advertising market have only presented its profits in their argument that it is overcharging them, which it says does not prove their claims.
• “All the Advertisers can muster is that Meta’s profits — not its prices — exceed those of a group of foreign companies nothing like Meta,” the company wrote.
• The complaint against Facebook accuses the company of purchasing Instagram and WhatsApp as a way to stifle competition in the social media market.

Facebook monopoly class action lawsuit overview: 

• Who: Facebook users asked a federal judge to require Meta to turn over documents related to its internal investigation of the Cambridge Analytica data harvesting scandal.
• Why: Facebook users claim the material is relevant to their pending antitrust complaint against the company. 
• Where: The class action lawsuit was filed in California federal court.   

(May 18, 2022)

A group of Facebook users in California have asked a judge to require Facebook’s parent company Meta to hand over documents from its internal investigation into data harvesting by Cambridge Analytica. 

The Facebook users argue that Meta’s control over the material is relevant to their pending antitrust complaint against the social networking company. 

Specifically, the Facebook users claim the material would strengthen their case against the company, which they are accusing of attempting to monopolize the market for social media. 

The complaint against Facebook, which includes advertisers as plaintiffs, accuses the company of purchasing Instagram and WhatsApp as a way to stifle competition in the social media market. 

Facebook users’ class action claims Meta misrepresented data collection practices

The Facebook users also claim the company misrepresented its “data collection and use practices” to help it obtain and maintain its monopoly power.

The company’s ability to protect user data was at the center of a previous multidistrict litigation against Facebook, which saw users argue that its inability to prevent third parties from accessing and subsequently misusing their data resulted in a number of privacy violations, Law360 reports.

The privacy complaint followed the March 2018 reveal that Cambridge Analytica bought the data of 87 million Facebook users from a third-party app developer. 

Facebook users seek to use details from the multidistrict litigation in their current complaint, believing it will strengthen their case, Law360 reports. 

In January, a judge determined that Facebook must face similar claims by the Federal Trade Commission that the company was guilty of attempting to monopolize the social media market. 

Do you believe Meta has monopolized the social media market? Let us know in the comments! 

The plaintiffs are represented by Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP, Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check LLP, Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, Lockridge Grindal Nauen PLLP and Barrack Rodos & Bacine and Pomerantz LLP.

The Case is Klein, et al. v. Facebook Inc., Case No. 3:20-cv-08570, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

Read About More Class Action Lawsuits & Class Action Settlements:

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