Facebook has a long history of being in the news. This time it is for an antitrust lawsuit filed by the US Federal Trade Commission.
The largest social media company wants the lawsuit to be dismissed while the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) appears to be determined to continue. Whether the request gets accepted is a question for the future. Let us review the details about the update.
The Argument
A court hears arguments of both sides. The current one has come up in the news as Facebook has asked a US court to let go of the ongoing antitrust lawsuit against the company. It was filed by FTC seeking to break the company.
Facebook argued that FTC lacked factual support for its lawsuit filed in the court. It added that this was nothing but a way to urge the company to sell two of its major subsidiaries.
Instagram and WhatsApp have millions of users across the globe. Their initial screen appears with the branding of Meta. According to the company, FTC is looking to make its brand disappear by asking it to sell these two subsidiaries.
FTC, while filing the lawsuit, claimed that Meta had a heavy influence in the digital social network market and it was using the influence to raise the prices. Meta denied the claim, unaware that there was another part to it.
The antitrust lawsuit further said that Facebook protected its monopoly by acting illegally in the market. Like Meta denied the first part of the claim, it did the same with this part as well.
After clarifying the reasons why Facebook wants the antitrust lawsuit to be dismissed, it underlined that the participation of FTC chair, Lina Khan, was against the interest of the lawsuit. Facebook highlighted her criticism for the company before joining FTC.
The US court will decide the validity of this statement. From a normal perspective, criticism is a normal part for every company irrespective of who does it and where that person ends up in the future.
Many people in the world are currently watching this case. Governments of the leading countries have been facing a challenge to regulate tech companies. This particular case is expected to shape the future of many such tech companies.
Final Thoughts
Many technical aspects will play an important role in this case. The judgment will set a course for other lawsuits pending in the court or are yet to be filed.
