Federal government sues Facebook for monopoly

The U.S. federal government along with most states launched a twin anti-monopoly lawsuit against Facebook.

CNN’s Brian Fung reported:

Dozens of states and the federal government sued Facebook (FB) on Wednesday in twin antitrust lawsuits, alleging that the social media giant has abused its dominance in the digital marketplace and engaged in anticompetitive behavior.

The Federal Trade Commission, in particular, is seeking a permanent injunction in federal court that could, among other things, require the company to divest assets, including Instagram and WhatsApp, effectively breaking up Facebook as we know it. The states are also calling for the company to be broken up, if necessary.

Devin Coldeway from TechCrunch wrote:

Both suits allege that Facebook has engaged in illegal patterns of behavior, which the states and federal investigators worked together to characterize. But the state lawsuit is concerned with violations at the state law level, while the FTC  alleges violation of federal law. Therefore the two lawsuits, while objecting to the same actions by Facebook, will be pursued and adjudicated separately.

Shannon Bond and Bobby Allyn from NPR reported:

“For nearly a decade, Facebook has used its dominance and monopoly power to crush smaller rivals and snuff out competition, all at the expense of everyday users,” said New York Attorney General Letitia James, who led the states’ investigation. “Today, we are taking action to stand up for the millions of consumers and many small businesses that have been harmed by Facebook’s illegal behavior.”

The suits are the latest salvo against Big Tech and come less than two months after the U.S. Justice Department and 11 states sued Google, alleging the company violated competition law. Together, the efforts to rein in the power of the tech giants mark a new era for U.S. regulators, who for decades allowed the technology sector to grow rapidly with few restraints.