A US federal court has agreed to hear the Federal Trade Commission’s refiled antitrust case against Facebook, the Washington Post reports. Facebook parent Meta said it was confident the claims were unsupported and the lawsuit would fail.
The regulator's previous suit was thrown out for lack of evidence, and the FTC resubmitted the case in August 2021. US District Judge James E. Boasberg wrote that the amended complaint offered "more robust and detailed" evidence to suggest Facebook has an alleged monopoly.
The FTC argues that Facebook’s dominance has led to a lack of innovation, fewer privacy protections and a general decline in choice for services that has harmed consumers. To limit the company's monopoly position, it has called for Meta to sell Instagram and WhatsApp. While the judge’s decision acknowledges the agency has overcome some of the shortcomings of the initial suit, Boasberg signaled it may be challenging for the FTC to ultimately prove Facebook is a monopoly. It’s "anyone’s guess" whether the agency will prevail, he wrote.
Facebook argued in October that the suit had "no valid factual basis". The company reiterated its opposition to the case, saying it was "confident the evidence will reveal the fundamental weakness of the claims", said Chris Sgro, a spokesman for Meta.
