Facebook could face state antitrust lawsuit as early as next week

State attorneys general are preparing to file antitrust lawsuits against Facebook as early as next week, sources familiar with the matter told CNBC’s Ylan Mui. At least 20 to 30 states could participate, according to the sources.

The news comes as multiple media outlets reported that the Federal Trade Commission is likely to file its own antitrust lawsuit against the social media giant. It’s still unclear where the FTC can choose to take a case – either to federal court or to its administrative judge. If he chooses to take the case internally, he cannot combine his trial with the States. Reuters previously reported that states were planning an antitrust case against Facebook.

The FTC and state AGs, led by Letitia James of New York, have been investigating Facebook for the past year.

While the full scope of their investigations remains private, Facebook’s past acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp have long been seen as a source of further scrutiny by law enforcement advocates.

Documents released this summer by the House Justice subcommittee on antitrust from its own Facebook investigation have demonstrated internal company thinking around its acquisition strategy. Internal posts showed that Facebook appeared threatened by Instagram’s growth just prior to the acquisition and that Instagram co-founder feared Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg would “go into destruction mode” if he refused to. sell.

A lawsuit would make Facebook the second major tech company to face an antitrust challenge from government officials in the past year. Google is facing a Justice Department lawsuit, and several states are also continuing to investigate the company.

The outcome of antitrust lawsuits against either company can vary widely. If they fail to win legal challenges, they might be forced to part with parts of their business or commit to changing certain practices.

James’ office, the FTC and Facebook all declined to comment.

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