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U.S. and States Say Facebook Illegally Crushed CompetitionRegulators are accusing the company of buying up rising rivals to cement its dominance over social media.
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N.Y. Attorney General Asks Courts to Take Action Against Facebook Attorney General Letitia James of New York, who led the multistate investigation into Facebook, called for the courts on Wednesday to stop the company from its “anti-competitive” behavior to protect small businesses.Facebook has been spending its time surveilling users’ personal information and profiting, profiting from it. No company — no company should have this much unchecked power over our personal information and our social interactions. And that’s why we are taking action today, and standing up for the millions of consumers and many small businesses that have been harmed by Facebook’s illegal behavior. So we are asking the court to halt Facebook’s anti-competitive conduct and block the company from continuing this behavior in the future, as well as provide any additional relief it determines is appropriate. By restoring competition, our lawsuit will help consumers have alternatives to Facebook, and that they can vote with their feet. Today, we are sending a clear and a strong message to Facebook and every other company that any efforts to stifle competition and hurt small businesses, reduce innovation and creativity or cut pricey protections — privacy protections — will be met with the full force of our offices.
Published Dec. 9, 2020Updated July 28, 2021
WASHINGTON — The Federal Trade Commission and more than 40 states accused Facebook on Wednesday of buying up its rivals to illegally squash competition, and they called for the deals to be unwound, escalating regulators’ battle against the biggest tech companies in a way that could remake the social media industry.
Federal and state regulators of both parties, who have investigated the company for over 18 months, said in separate lawsuits that Facebook’s purchases, especially Instagram for $1 billion in 2012 and WhatsApp for $19 billion two years later, eliminated competition that could have one day challenged the company’s dominance.
Since those deals, Instagram and WhatsApp have skyrocketed in popularity, giving Facebook control over three of the world’s most popular social media and messaging apps. The applications have helped catapult Facebook from a company started in a college dorm room 16 years ago to an internet powerhouse valued at more than $800 billion.
The lawsuits, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, underscore the growing bipartisan and international tsunami against Big Tech. Lawmakers and regulators have zeroed in on the grip that Facebook, Google, Amazon and Apple maintain on commerce, electronics, social networking, search and online advertising, remaking the nation’s economy.
President Trump has argued repeatedly that the tech giants have too much power and influence, and allies of President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. make similar complaints. The federal case against Facebook is widely expected to continue under Mr. Biden’s administration.
The investigations already led to a lawsuit against Google, brought by the Justice Department two months ago, that accuses the search giant of illegally protecting a monopoly. Prosecutors in that case, though, stopped short of demanding that Google break off any parts of its business. At least one more suit against Google, by both Republican and Democratic officials, is expected by the end of the year. In Europe, regulators are proposing tougher laws against the industry and have issued billions of dollars in penalties for the violation of competition laws.
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