US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on August 19 filed a revised complaint against Facebook accusing the social media giant of establishing a monopoly over social media apps. The complaint was filed as part of the ongoing antitrust case against Facebook.
“Facebook is a monopolist that abused its excessive market power to eliminate threats to its dominance,” FTC alleged in the complaint.
The complaint further alleged that after repeated failed attempts to develop innovative mobile features for its network, Facebook resorted to an illegal buy-or-bury scheme to maintain its dominance.
“It unlawfully acquired innovative competitors with popular mobile features that succeeded where Facebook’s own offerings fell flat or fell apart. And to further moat its monopoly, Facebook lured app developers to the platform, surveilled them for signs of success, and then buried them when they became competitive threats.” The agency said in the complaint.
The lawsuit specifically refers to Facebook’s acquisition of Instagram and Whatsapp.
Holly Vedova, FTC Bureau of Competition Acting Director said “Facebook lacked the business acumen and technical talent to survive the transition to mobile. After failing to compete with new innovators, Facebook illegally bought or buried them when their popularity became an existential threat.”
“Facebook’s actions have suppressed innovation and product quality improvements. And they have degraded the social network experience, subjecting users to lower levels of privacy and data protection and more intrusive ads. The FTC’s action today seeks to put an end to this illegal activity and restore competition for the benefit of Americans and honest businesses alike.” Vedova further added.
According to the complaint, Facebook acquired Instagram in 2012 and Whatsapp in 2014 in order to maintain its monopoly and to publicize its profits.
The revised complaint also alleged that Facebook continues to monitor the industry for competitive threats to its personal social networking monopoly and that it may acquire companies it perceives as potential threats.
FTC sued Facebook in December 2020 following which the lawsuit was dismissed by a federal court in June 2021. On August 19, FTC filed a revised antitrust complaint against the company.
