Facebook Moves To Dismiss Antitrust Lawsuits

Facebook made its first legal move since the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and 46 states filed lawsuits against it in December 2020, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday (March 10).

The social media giant asked a federal judge in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. to dismiss the antitrust lawsuits, calling the filings baseless. The FTC and the states accused Facebook of acquiring rivals to avoid competition, pointing to the purchases of WhatsApp and Instagram.

The FTC previously allowed Facebook to make those acquisitions but argues that time has shown that the company has used the deals to entrench a monopoly position. The states argue that a lack of competitors to Facebook has led to consumer harm, including by weakening privacy protections.

Facebook will have to meet a high legal standard to convince a federal judge to throw out the cases before trial. In order to prevail on a motion to dismiss, the company must show that the plaintiffs’ factual allegations about the nature of the marketplace, even if accepted as true, don’t establish a valid legal claim.

The FTC and the states are due to respond to the motions in April, the WSJ reported. 

Facebook said the FTC has yet to define what market the social media giant reportedly dominates. The commission also has not yet made convincing arguments that the social media behemoth has monopoly power.

“Facebook’s products are offered for free and in unlimited quantities” — the government can’t show elevated pricing or restricted output. The company also has highlighted the fact that the FTC gave it the green light to acquire Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014. 

The FTC and the states maintain that Facebook’s acquisition of WhatsApp and Instagram has stifled the development of new tech firms to compete with the social platform. If the FTC’s lawsuit is successful, it could lead to Facebook being forced to spin off those acquisitions.

Regulators have also accused Facebook of additional anticompetitive behavior, like denying third-party developers access to its platform. Facebook countered that the Supreme Court already set the precedent that the company is not obligated to extend access to its platform.

“Years after the FTC cleared our acquisitions, the government now wants a do-over with no regard for the impact that precedent would have on the broader business community or the people who choose our products every day,” Facebook said last year.