US FTC files new antitrust lawsuit, says Facebook 'bought & buried' rivals like Instagram

Legal troubles mounted for Facebook on Friday after the US Trade Commission filed an anti-trust lawsuit against the company for buying emerging innovators like Instagram and WhatsApp in a bid to eliminate competition. The FTC filed a fresh 80-page antitrust lawsuit in the Washington federal court and said that the new plea provided additional details on Facebook's dominant market shares in the US personal social-networking market which held the power to exclude competition. 

In a statement, the FTC said, "Facebook's unlawful course of conduct to maintain its monopoly continues today and must be enjoined. Facebook continues to hold and operate the assets it acquired unlawfully and continues to keep them positioned to provide a protective 'moat' around its personal social networking monopoly. Moreover, Facebook continues to monitor competitive threats and will seek to acquire or kneecap them unless enjoined."

The petition by the body seeks a permanent injunction from the court for the District of Columbia to remedy the alleged 'anti-competitive and monopolistic barques of Facebook. Holly Vedova, the acting director of the agency’s competition bureau claimed that after failing to compete with new innovators, Facebook illegally bought or buried them when their popularity became an existential threat. “This conduct is no less anti-competitive than if Facebook had bribed emerging app competitors not to compete," she said in a statement. 

Facebook calls antitrust lawsuit 'meritless' 

Issuing a statement, the Mark Zuckerberg-led company has said that the US Trade Commission lacked a 'basis' for the claim. It detailed how accusations against its takeover of both Instagram and WhatsApp had been reviewed and cleared long ago. 

“It is unfortunate that despite the court’s dismissal of the complaint and conclusion that it lacked the basis for a claim, the FTC has chosen to continue this meritless lawsuit,” Facebook said in a statement. “Our acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp were reviewed and cleared many years ago, and our platform policies were lawful," it added.

Meanwhile, there have also been significant concerns over Facebook's massive collection of animated GIFs from Giphy. UK regulators have raised concerns about the acquisition and say that it might reduce competition in social media and advertising, creating a monopoly for Facebook. 

(With Agency Inputs)