FTC Opposes Facebook’s Motion to Dismiss

Facebook has moved to dismiss the antitrust suit that was filed against it during the Trump administration. The FTC opposes the motion, arguing that it doesn’t address the legal issues, only takes issue with some of the claims—such as the FTC’s claim that Facebook has market dominance. The case against Facebook focuses on two big acquisitions that Facebook made. In 2012, Facebook paid $1 billion for Instagram, at the time a very successful startup. The FTC alleges that Mark Zuckerberg realized it could grow into a serious rival, and bought the company to prevent that. In 2014, Facebook acquired WhatsApp for $19 billion. That eliminated WhatsApp as a threat, according to the FTC, and continues to deprive users of the benefits of competition. Lina Khan, an antitrust scholar, has been nominated for a seat on the FTC. If confirmed, she is expected to advocate for vigorous antitrust cases against big tech companies.