Facebook Should be Broken up, FTC and States Allege in Pair of Lawsuits
“Facebook’s purchases of photo service Instagram and messaging app WhatsApp have helped fuel the social media giant’s massive growth. They’ve also prompted concerns from federal and state authorities about Facebook’s dominance in social networking,” reports Queenie Wong in CNET Daily News.
“The uneasiness with Facebook’s power bubbled over on Wednesday as the Federal Trade Commission and 48 attorneys general filed separate lawsuits in federal court accusing Facebook of illegally stifling its competition by snapping up its rivals.”
“The lawsuits are the latest sign that lawmakers and regulators are ratcheting up their scrutiny of the power that tech giants wield. In addition to Wednesday’s actions, the US Department of Justice’s antitrust division has been talking to developers about their interactions with Oculus, the virtual reality headset maker Facebook owns, Bloomberg reported last week. In October, the Justice Department filed a landmark lawsuit against Google for allegedly holding monopolies in both search and search advertising.”
