FTC Refiles Anticompetitive Lawsuit Against Facebook - Read Why?

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has refiled its antitrust case against Facebook Inc FB, alleging illegal monopoly power after a federal judge dismissed its lawsuit earlier this year.
The FTC accused Facebook of violating antitrust rules by acquiring Instagram and WhatsApp to eliminate them as a competitor, equivalent to bribing emerging app competitors from not competing. The FTC reiterated the court’s request to unwind the acquisitions.
The FTC accused Facebook of using a “buy or bury” strategy to neutralize competitors. Facebook illegally bought or buried them after failing to compete with the innovators, the suit said.
CNBC reports that Facebook has to answer the complaint by October 4.
“It is unfortunate that despite the court’s dismissal of the complaint and conclusion that it lacked the basis for a claim, the FTC has chosen to continue this meritless lawsuit. There was no valid claim that Facebook was a monopolist--and that has not changed. Our acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp were reviewed and cleared many years ago, and our platform policies were lawful. The FTC’s claims are an effort to rewrite antitrust laws and upend settled expectations of merger review, declaring to the business community that no sale is ever final. We fight to win people’s time and attention every day, and we will continue vigorously defending our company,” a Facebook spokesperson told Benzinga.
Facebook previously sought respite from FTC chair Lina Khan’s interference in its antitrust cases.
Price Action: FB shares traded higher by 0.05% at $355.61 on the last check Thursday.
Photo by Okan Caliskan from Pixabay

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