Snap has documented Facebook’s alleged anti-competitive moves in a collection of files nicknamed Project Voldemort, The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday (Sept. 23).
Copying Stories and preventing people from linking to Snapchat profiles are just some of the perceived offenses. Voldemort documents also accuse Facebook of intentionally suppressing Snapchat-related content.
Snap is joining other Facebook competitors in participating in discussions with investigators from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which is already probing the social media giant’s business practices, sources told WSJ.
The legal team at Snap has reportedly kept a dossier on Facebook outlining allegations of thwarting competition. Instagram, for example, has allegedly threatened influencers with losing their verified status if they share Snapchat links.
The Voldemort files could hurt Facebook’s position as the FTC investigates anti-competitive moves, including the acquisition of rivals and its use of Onavo tech to gather usage data for Snapchat. The information in the dossier could also be used by the Justice Department in its scrutiny of tech competition.
“This is competition at work and one of the longtime hallmarks of the tech sector,” said a Facebook spokesperson. “Businesses continually build and iterate on concepts and ideas in the marketplace, making them better or taking them in different directions. This is good for consumers.”
In August, Instagram and parent company Facebook started working on a new type of messaging app to rival Snapchat. The app, which will be called Threads, is meant for use between close friends. It will be a companion app to Instagram, allowing users to share information like where they are and how much battery life they have, as well as photos, videos and texts. The new app is currently being tested on Facebook.
Recently, messaging workers at Instagram were migrated to the Facebook messaging team in a move to create a more direct link between the two companies.
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