Facebook faces Antitrust Lawsuits in 46 US States

Facebook faces antitrust lawsuits from the United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and 48 attorneys general across 46 states. The social media giant was accused of engaging in illegal, anti-competitive tactics to kill competition.

The lawsuit reviews the company's past actions and history, and alleges it for buying off competitors illegally and in a predatory manner to preserve and expand its market powers. These complaints specifically challenge Facebook's acquisition of two companies: WhatsApp, a messaging service and Instagram, a photo-sharing social media platform.

Although two groups have coordinated their investigations, these suits are essentially separate from one another. All of them, however, claim that company has used its monopoly power to suppress competition.

The FTC suit also calls for Instagram and WhatsApp to be split off from the company. Antitrust regulators have also been explicitly asking the court to force the tech giant, forcing Facebook to sell off both Instagram and WhatsApp as a remedy.

Facebook also responded to this issue by saying that “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,” according to Techcrunch.

While the lawsuits criticize Facebook’s aggressive “buy-or-bury” strategy, they also claim that users have been dissatisfied with the company's data usage and privacy options, which has allowed Facebook to reap enormous profits.

In a world, where antitrust and privacy laws are becoming more important than ever, lawsuits such as these demand strict action to remedy the harm caused by profit-maximizing social media giants like Facebook.