The Federal Trade Commission has confirmed that it will sue Facebook and has suggested that the company sells off Instagram, WhatsApp, and other powerful platforms.
Facebook has been “illegally maintaining its personal social networking monopoly through a years-long course of anticompetitive conduct,” according to their report, and the lawsuit is designed to break up Facebook’s monopoly, and indeed the impact it has had on users.
In a statement on the FTC website, Ian Conner, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition, said: “Personal social networking is central to the lives of millions of Americans. Facebook’s actions to entrench and maintain its monopoly deny consumers the benefits of competition. Our aim is to roll back Facebook’s anticompetitive conduct and restore competition so that innovation and free competition can thrive.”
The FTC says that Facebook’s acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp – which were completed ten and seven years ago respectively – are “anticompetitive,” and the FTC is now seeking an injunction that could force the social networking giant to sell off both platforms.
“The FTC is seeking a permanent injunction in federal court that could, among other things: require divestitures of assets, including Instagram and WhatsApp; prohibit Facebook from imposing anticompetitive conditions on software developers, and require Facebook to seek prior notice and approval for future mergers and acquisitions.”
Do you think that Facebook has too much power and authority in the industry? What do you think can be done to reduce this? Let us know and check back soon for more news, soon.
