The federal government of United States and dozens of states filed two anti-trust lawsuits against social media giant Facebook alleging that the organisation has abused its dominance in digital marketplace. They alleged that Facebook engaged in anti-competitive behaviour which was not good for the people of the US.
This is not the first time that Facebook has come under the radar of the US government. In the past too, the social media giant headed by Mark Zuckerberg had to address the senate for various other allegations.
The spurt of growth of Facebook in recent times has become a cause for concern to the US government. In particular, the Federal Trade Commission has been requesting the federal court to grant permanent injunction that would require the company to divest its present assets.
This in short, would mean Facebook that owns Whatsapp and Instagram to divest from them and a probable break-up of Facebook itself. Several states have also expressed similar opinions. The unabated spread of Facebook has led to lack of competition and monopoly of the company, the FTC and states said.
Millions of Americans are into social networking. So, to allow for healthy competition and innovation, the states and FTC want Facebook’s monopoly to end. The Silicon Valley’s most powerful organisation had acquired Instagram for $1 billion and Whatsapp for $19 billion.
The parallel suits said that Facebook with its vast data and resources snuffed out competition to retain its monopoly. The lawsuits asked for a court order that would make it mandatory for Facebook to notify state officials in future, if it’s making acquisitions worth $10 million or more.