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Facebook has asked a court to dismiss state and federal antitrust lawsuits accusing it of abusing its market power in the social network to crush smaller competitors.
The social media giant said on Wednesday that the complaints “do not credibly claim” that its behavior is detrimental to consumers or competition.
The antitrust lawsuit, filed in December by the Federal Trade Commission and 48 states, is looking for remedies that could include a forced spin of the social network’s popular Instagram and WhatsApp services.
| Ticker | Safety | Last | Alter | Alter% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FB | FACEBOOK, INC. | 264.78 | -0.96 | -0.36% |
“As we said when the FTC and the Attorney General announced these lawsuits, people around the world use our products not because they have to, but because we make their lives better,” Facebook said in a statement.
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The FTC case alleges that Facebook had a “systematic strategy” to eliminate its competition, including by acquiring smaller emerging competitors such as Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014. New York Attorney General Letitia James, in announcing the state lawsuit, reflected this sentiment, saying that Facebook “used its monopolistic power to crush smaller competitors and suppress competition, all at the expense of everyday users.”
The FTC and the Attorney General’s Office in New York did not immediately respond to comments.
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Big Tech companies are facing increasing opposition from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle over the power they have built up over the past decade. There is little likelihood that the pressure will ease. President Joe Biden said a breakdown of technology giants should be seriously considered.
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Lawmakers and consumer advocates have accused Facebook of competing behavior, especially when they buy aspiring smaller competitors like Instagram and WhatsApp and copy competitors.
Critics argue that such tactics could increase competition and limit viable alternatives for consumers, for example to comparable services that pay less attention to targeted advertising. Businesses, including mom and pop stores, may have to pay more for advertising if they have fewer choices to reach consumers online. It can take years to resolve the lawsuits.