The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) today announced a lawsuit against Facebook alleging that the company has created an illegal monopoly based on anti-competitive practices.
According to an announcement by the FTC, the lawsuit includes the company's Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp services, as well as the alleged imposition of practices by Facebook on software developers.
The announcement says the US government is seeking an order to force the company to divest these and potentially other services and to prevent Facebook from acquiring new Companies without a federal license.
According to the FTC statement:
After a lengthy investigation in collaboration with a team of attorneys general of 46 states, the District of Columbia and Guam, the complaint alleges that Facebook has engaged in a systematic strategy — including acquiring upstart rival Instagram in 2012, acquiring applications for cell phones μηνύματα WhatsApp το 2014 και την επιβολή αντιανταγωνιστικών όρων στους προγραμματιστές λογισμικού – για την εξάλειψη των απειλών κατά του μονοπωλίου της. Αυτή η συμπεριφορά βλάπτει τον ανταγωνισμό, αφήνει στους καταναλωτές λίγες επιλογές για προσωπική κοινωνική δικτύωση και στερεί από τους διαφημιστές τα οφέλη του ανταγωνισμού.
The FTC is seeking a permanent injunction from the feds court which could, among other things:
- Require the sale of assets such as Instagram and WhatsApp.
- Prohibit Facebook from imposing anti-competitive conditions on software developers,
- and require Facebook to request permission for future mergers and acquisitions.
We will need some further analysis to see what effect the FTC decision will have in practice, given that the US is in a state of transition at the moment.
At present no one can predict how the next president will handle the situation. It is worth emphasizing that the case is now in the hands of the court.
