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WASHINGTON – Facebook Inc.
FB 0.10%
On Wednesday, asked a federal judge to dismiss antitrust lawsuits from the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general, arguing that government officials had no valid basis to allege the social media giant was suppressing competition.
The FTC “totally ignores the reality of the vibrant and intensely competitive high-tech industry in which Facebook operates,” the company said in seeking to dismiss the commission’s case. In a second motion, Facebook argued that the states’ case “does not and cannot claim that their citizens have paid higher prices, that production has been reduced, or that any objective measure of quality has declined. as a result of Facebook’s disputed actions. “
The company’s filings in U.S. District Court in Washington mark its first legal salvo since the FTC and 46 states sued Facebook in December over allegations the company illegally preserved monopoly status by freezing and buying potential competitors.
The FTC and states each allege that Facebook has chosen to buy companies rather than compete with them, with much of their cases focusing on the company’s past acquisitions of the mobile messaging service WhatsApp and Instagram, the platform. sharing photos.
The FTC previously cleared Facebook to make the acquisitions, but argues that time has shown the company used the deals to consolidate a monopoly position. States say Facebook’s lack of competitors has caused damage to consumers, including weakening privacy protections.
Facebook will have to meet a high legal standard to convince a federal judge to dismiss the cases before trial. In order to prevail over a motion to dismiss, the company must demonstrate that the complainants’ factual claims about the nature of the market, even if accepted as true, do not constitute a valid legal claim.
The FTC and states are due to respond to motions in April.
New York State Attorney General Letitia James presented a wide-ranging antitrust action against Facebook by the Federal Trade Commission and a bipartisan group of 46 state attorneys general, targeting the company’s tactics against its competitors. Photo: Saul Loeb / AFP via Getty Images (Video of 12/09/20)
Facebook in its newspapers noted that the lawsuit against the FTC was voted 3-2 and was brought at a time when the company faced relentless criticism “for matters totally unrelated to antitrust concerns.”
The company said the commission failed to identify a relevant market that Facebook allegedly dominates. Almost all of Facebook’s revenue comes from advertising, which is an ever-competitive market, the company said.
Facebook also argued that the FTC did not plausibly allege that the company held monopoly power because the government cannot show that the company increased prices or restricted production, given that ” Facebook products are offered for free and in unlimited quantities ”.
The company has repeatedly pointed out that the commission previously allowed it to acquire Instagram and WhatsApp in 2012 and 2014, respectively. The FTC reviewed these agreements at the time and decided not to challenge them.
The FTC and states say the acquisitions served to wipe out growing independent tech companies whose popularity could have allowed them to become major rivals to Facebook.
The case of the commission, if successful, could lead Facebook to unwind these agreements.
Not all federal and state cases involved Facebook acquisitions. Antitrust law enforcement officials also alleged that Facebook engaged in other anti-competitive behavior, including cutting off access to its platform for third-party developers.
In response, Facebook, in its legal documents, said the Supreme Court precedent made it clear that it was not obligated to give other companies access to its platform.
Attacking the states case, the company argued that attorneys general lack the appropriate legal capacity to bring suit on behalf of their citizens, and claimed states have waited too long to bring charges.
Write to Brent Kendall at [email protected]
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