Social Media Titan Facebook seems to be bathing in hot waters followed by an antitrust lawsuit by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and is being accused of the practices which are anti-competitive.
On Wednesday, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced a massive antitrust lawsuit against Facebook, claiming the social media giant has harmed competition by buying up smaller companies like Instagram and WhatsApp to squash the threat they posed to its business.
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FTC proposes that Facebook should give up the authority of both WhatsApp and Instagram, which is a divestment move that is likely to shatter CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s social media empire.
“Our aim is to roll back Facebook’s anticompetitive conduct and restore competition so that innovation and free competition can thrive,” said Ian Conner, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition, in a statement.
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Both of these applications contribute to major share of Facebook’s revenue and hold a value which is significant for the upcoming goals set by Mr Zuckerberg and it will negatively impact the current market value of social giant’s market standing so they do not seem to be in a mood to let it go without a fight.
“Our acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp have dramatically improved those services and helped them reach many more people,” Mark Zuckerberg wrote in a post. “We compete hard and we compete fairly. I’m proud of that.”
Source : The Verge
Image Credit : INC
