Image credit: Pool
Updated June 28, 2021 at 5:31 PM ET
A federal judge has dismissed two blockbuster antitrust complaints against Facebook, in a setback to federal and state prosecutors who were pushing for a break-up of the social media giant.
The cases, filed separately by the Federal Trade Commission and 48 state attorneys general in December, accused Facebook of crushing competition by swallowing rivals, including Instagram and WhatsApp, and stifling other would-be competitors by cutting their access to its valuable data and systems.
But Judge James Boasberg of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia said in Monday’s ruling that prosecutors failed to prove Facebook has a monopoly in social networking.
Pool / Getty Images
Updated June 28, 2021 at 5:31 PM ET
A federal judge has dismissed two blockbuster antitrust complaints against Facebook, in a setback to federal and state prosecutors who were pushing for a break-up of the social media giant.
The cases, filed separately by the Federal Trade Commission and 48 state attorneys general in December, accused Facebook of crushing competition by swallowing rivals, including Instagram and WhatsApp, and stifling other would-be competitors by cutting their access to its valuable data and systems.
But Judge James Boasberg of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia said in Monday s ruling that prosecutors failed to prove Facebook has a monopoly in social networking.
Cecilia Kang, The New York Times
Published: 29 Jun 2021 08:41 AM BdST
Updated: 29 Jun 2021 08:41 AM BdST The Facebook headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif, on July 15, 2020. The New York Times
In a stunning setback to regulators’ efforts to break up Facebook, a federal judge on Monday threw out antitrust lawsuits brought against the company by the Federal Trade Commission and more than 40 states. );
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The judge eviscerated one of the federal government’s core arguments, that Facebook holds a monopoly over social networking, saying prosecutors had failed to provide enough facts to back up that claim. And he said the states had waited too long to bring their case, which centres on deals made in 2012 and 2014.
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