Facebook Swings Lower as FTC Sues for Antitrust Violations

By Yasin Ebrahim

Facebook fell deeper into the red on Wednesday after the Federal Trade Commission and a slew of states sued the social media company for antitrust violations and called for the break up of the company.  

Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) fell more than 2%.

“We are taking action to stand up for the millions of consumers and many small businesses that have been harmed by Facebook’s illegal behavior,” said New York State Attorney General Letitia James, who is leading a monopoly lawsuit brought by several states against the social media company.

The FTC pointed to numerous examples of antitrust activity including Facebook’s 2012 acquisition of Instagram and 2014 buyout of Whatsapp.

The FTC alleges Facebook is illegally maintaining its social networking monopoly after years of anticompetitive conduct. An investigation in cooperation with a coalition of attorneys general of 46 states, the District of Columbia, and Guam led to the complaint. The government is seeking a permanent injunction in federal court that could require divestitures of Instagram and WhatsApp, and require that Facebook seek prior notice and approval for future mergers and acquisitions.

“Facebook’s actions to entrench and maintain its monopoly deny consumers the benefits of competition,”  said Ian Conner, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition. “Our aim is to roll back Facebook’s anticompetitive conduct and restore competition so that innovation and free competition can thrive.”