A federal judge ruled that the antitrust case reformulated by US regulators against Facebook can continue, admitting that the complaint is more solid and detailed than the version denied last year.
The United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) alleged that the social media giant, now renamed Meta, has an illegal monopoly by acquiring potential competitors such as Instagram and WhatsApp.
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The FTC “may well face a major task in the future to prove its allegations,” but the case will not be dismissed, ruled Boasberg, who last year dismissed the original lawsuit. Tuesday’s ruling denies Facebook’s intention to also dismiss the reformulated textor. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment from AFP.
“The Commission continues to claim that Facebook has long had a monopoly on the market … and that has illegally maintained that monopoly“Boasberg wrote.” However, the facts stated this time to strengthen those theories are much more robust and detailed than before, “he admitted.
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The judge also rejected Facebook’s argument that the case should be dismissed because the commission’s decision to correct and resubmit the lawsuit was fueled by a bias against the company from the president of the FTC, Lina Khan.
In the reformulated lawsuit, the FTC claims that Facebook’s prevalence “is protected by high barriers to entry” and that “even an entry with a superior product cannot be successful“because of how its ecosystem is conceived.
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The lawsuit, which could take years to go to court before reaching a settlement, requires that order the “divestment of assets”, including WhatsApp and Instagram, to restore competition.
Boasberg had said in his dismissal ruling last year that the initial lawsuit for the agency lacked evidence, especially to define the market that Facebook was supposedly monopolizing.
Judge James Boasberg’s ruling is a new blow for Facebook, which comes from facing scrutiny last year by a whistleblower who leaked documents in which executives were aware of the damage that their services could cause to their users, especially the youngest.
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AFP
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