Engadget Logo Engadget Japanese version FTC's antitrust lawsuit against Facebook, accepted for second filing

Judge James E. Boasberg of the U.S. District Court on January 11 (local time) accepted the FTC's antitrust complaint against Facebook (now Meta) and will proceed to trial. I made the decision.

The FTC originally announced in December 2020 that Facebook has continued to acquire startups such as Instagram and WhatsApp in the field of personal social networking services with the intention of continuing to monopolize the market for a long time. It sought to split or sell these businesses.

However, in June 2021, a federal district court dismissed the complaint prematurely, citing insufficient evidence for the FTC's allegations. However, the court allowed the content to be revised and resubmitted, so the FTC resubmitted the revised complaint in August. The judgment this time is that this resubmitted document has been accepted.

Judge Boasberg assessed that the FTC's monopoly outline was much more robust and detailed than before, although the core theory of the complaint remained essentially unchanged.

In this regard, Facebook once again sought to dismiss the FTC's efforts, claiming it was "like rearranging the Titanic's deck chairs." It also requested that Lina Khan, who took over as chairman of the FTC in June, be removed from the lawsuit, accusing her of antitrust bias. However, these requests have been dismissed as irrelevant.

In addition, this move was only determined that the complaint met the criteria and was sufficient to proceed to the next step, and deliberations on the specific content will be made from now on. "While the FTC may face the difficult task of substantiating its allegations, the FTC has determined that the complaint itself satisfies the criteria and can proceed to discovery," Judge Boasberg said. .

A Meta spokesperson told Engadget: "We believe the evidence will reveal underlying weaknesses in the allegations made in the lawsuit. "These investments are helping us compete and the people and businesses that use our products."

Source: Memoranfum Opinion

via: The Washington Post

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