Judge Says FTC Meta Monopoly Lawsuit Can Go Forward

[ad_1]

A federal judge has said the U.S. Federal Trade Commission may initiate antitrust lawsuit against Meta, formerly known as Facebook, after dismissing the action last year.

District of Columbia Judge James Boasberg said in a notice released today that the FTC’s first complaint has come off the starting blocks. But a revised version, Boasberg said, makes the same arguments with much more solid and detailed facts than before. As a result, he rejected Metas’ request to dismiss and allow the case to be investigated, although he says the agency may well face a daunting task in the future to prove its claims.

FTC could still face a daunting task to prove its claims

Throughout the case, the FTC alleged that Meta held an illegal monopoly on personal social media services and maintained it by acquiring competitors Instagram and WhatsApp. Today’s opinion indicates that the agency reasonably substantiated this claim with data on Metas’ market power, although, as before, Boasberg refrained from endorsing the claims about former policies of Metas. interoperability of Meta.

Unlike its predecessor, this complaint provides specific and reinforcing allegations that all point to the same conclusion: Facebook has maintained a dominant market share during the relevant period, according to the opinion. If you accept the FTC’s market definition and data reliability, Facebook’s market share far exceeds levels that courts generally deem sufficient to establish monopoly power.

Boasberg also dismissed Metas ‘new claim that FTC chief Lina Khan struck down the complaint by prejudging Metas’ guilt, saying Khan’s previous public criticism of Facebook did not suggest an ax. grind based on personal animosity or a financial conflict of interest. Likewise, while the court recognizes the importance of his vote, it is too much to treat Khan as the sole instigator of the ongoing case.

The FTC lawsuit against Meta is one of many efforts by the U.S. government to reduce the monopoly power of big tech companies, including a Justice Department lawsuit against Google under the leadership of antitrust chief Jonathan Kanter.

Today’s ruling reverses a blow Boasberg dealt the FTC in June, when he said the complaint contained nothing to prove Metas’ monopoly power except the bare allegation that she owned a dominant share of personal social media services. The new complaint amended that claim with Comscore data shedding light on Metas’ market share of Daily Active Users (DAUs) and Monthly Active Users (MAUs) of social media, as well as the relative time spent on those media. While those numbers are likely to be called into question as the case progresses, they were compelling enough to let the FTC clear the first hurdle and make the discovery, where more details could be revealed.

Meta responded in a statement sent to The Verge by Chris Sgro. Today’s ruling narrows the scope of the FTC case by dismissing claims about our platform policies. He also acknowledges that the agency faces a daunting task to prove its case over two acquisitions it authorized years ago, the statement said. We were convinced that the evidence would reveal the fundamental weakness of the claims. Our investments in Instagram and WhatsApp have turned them into what they are today. They have been good for the competition and good for the people and businesses that choose to use our products.

Update 4:35 PM ET: Added Meta statement.

[ad_2]