As of: 29.06.2021 01:56
A US court has dismissed a competition lawsuit brought by US authorities against Facebook. Accordingly, it could not be shown that Facebook had a monopoly on the market for social media, it said.
In the legal dispute with US authorities over allegations of a dominant position, Facebook has achieved success. A federal judge dismissed the lawsuits from the US antitrust agency FTC and more than 40 states for anti-competitive activities, according to the 53-page decision. As a result, the value of the Facebook group on the New York Stock Exchange exceeded the one trillion dollar mark for the first time (about 838 billion euros).
The FTC and the attorneys general of more than 40 US states filed two lawsuits against Facebook last year. A federal judge in Washington has now concluded that the authorities have not been able to conclusively demonstrate that Facebook had created a monopoly on the online networking market.
Appeal possible
Judge Boasberg argued, “These allegations – which don’t even provide an estimated actual number or range of Facebook’s market share at any point in the past decade – end up implausibly showing that Facebook has market power.”
The FTC said it is considering what is the best option for it now. She has 30 days to file a new lawsuit. The FTC had accused Facebook of pursuing a “systematic strategy” to destroy competitors, including taking over the then smaller but rapidly growing competitors Instagram in 2012 and Whatsapp in 2014. The New York attorney general had to suffer from everyday users Letitia James argues. Facebook said it was pleased with Monday’s decision and pledged to compete fairly.
The Biden government inherited the lawsuit
If Facebook were convicted of a dominant position in the market, the Californian group would face the threat of having to part with the WhatsApp messenger service and the Instagram online network.
A central question now is how the administration of President Joe Biden intends to deal with the case – he inherited the lawsuit from his predecessor Donald Trump. However, Lina Khan – a well-known critic of the competitive position of large tech companies – was recently appointed as the new head of the FTC.
Facebook value rises to $ 1 trillion
Facebook bought Instagram for about $ 1 billion in 2012 and WhatsApp for about $ 22 billion in 2014. Both services now have well over a billion users. The US competition watchdogs approved the takeovers of Instagram and WhatsApp at the time.
Wall Street welcomed the federal judge’s decision. Facebook shares rose nearly five percent to $ 357.89 per share on the New York Stock Exchange. The group’s stock market value rose to over a trillion dollars for the first time.
US federal judge dismisses competition lawsuit against Facebook
Claudia Sarre, ARD Washington, June 28, 2021 11:36 p.m.