FTC Asks Facebook To Sell Instagram And WhatsApp In Major Antitrust Case
The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has refiled its complaint against Facebook, arguing that the company should be broken up and Instagram and WhatsApp should be sold off.
The FTC’s revised complaint, which is partly redacted, alleges that tech giant Facebook has a monopoly over social networking within the United States and argues that Facebook has deliberately made it difficult for other companies to compete. The FTC’s filing asks that the complaint is sealed for ten days.
This new antitrust case by the FTC comes amid increased scrutiny over the influence of Facebook and the way it has bought up its competitors. The case references a 2008 email from Facebook CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg, in which he writes: “It is better to buy than compete.” Lawyers representing the FTC claim that the tech giant acted in accordance with this strategy, buying out rivals as soon as they became successful enough to be considered a threat. Amongst these purchases are Instagram and WhatsApp, which both make up a significant part of the Facebook company.
The FTC argues that Facebook should be forced to sell off Instagram and WhatsApp. The FTC has also requested that Facebook is restricted from making similar purchases in the future.
