Facebook Faces Lawsuit For Alleged Anticompetitive Conduct

Facebook, Inc. FB is facing a lawsuit in the U.S. federal court for taking part in alleged anticompetitive activities, according to Reuters.

What Happened

Four mobile app development companies filed a lawsuit against Facebook on Thursday, accusing the company of selectively denying developer access to certain apps in an attempt to suppress competition.

The class-action lawsuit, seeking unspecified damages, was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

“Facebook faced an existential threat from mobile apps, and while it could have responded by competing on the merits, it instead chose to use its might to intentionally eliminate its competition,” said a partner at law firm Pierce Bainbridge and co-lead counsel in the case, Yavar Bathaee.

Why It Matters

Facebook cut off access to user data for certain app developers back in 2012, a move that allegedly aims to suppress potential rivals.

The social network, however, described the move as a boon for user privacy.

An app developer called Six4Three filed a lawsuit against Facebook in 2015 for removing developer access to the platform that eventually resulted in the closure of their app.

In 2018, the UK parliament published 250 pages of confidential Facebook documents that revealed the company’s “anticompetitive” activities throughout its history.

Facebook on Thursday refused to comment on the latest lawsuit, according to Reuters.

Price Action

Facebook’s shares rose 0.28% and closed at $221.77 on Thursday.