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published photo, PA Media
The market value of Facebook shares exceeded $ 1 trillion for the first time, after a court ruling in favor of the tech and social media giant against U.S. regulators.
Two lawsuits by the Federal Trade Commission and a coalition of states were dismissed in federal court, pushing Facebook shares up 4.2%.
This increased the value of Facebook above a trillion dollars, and thus became the last “Big Five” tech company to achieve this feat.
Both lawsuits accused Facebook of restricting its competitors.
But Judge James Boasberg ruled that the FTC’s complaint against the social media giant’s monopoly was too vague.
Another separate competitive action, brought by a group of 45 states alongside the commission, was dismissed because the alleged violations occurred too long ago.
In the ruling, Justice Boasberg wrote that the FTC’s complaint was “legally insufficient” and should be dismissed because the FTC “did not put forward sufficient facts” to support its claim that Facebook is eliminating competition.
The Federal Trade Commission lawsuit called for the disbandment of the tech giant, which also owns Instagram and WhatsApp.
“The FTC complaint says almost nothing concrete about the key question of how much power Facebook actually has and continues to have in a particular antitrust market,” the judge said.
“It is as if the agency is simply waiting for the court to nod to the misconception that Facebook has a monopoly,” he added.
While this is a setback for the Federal Trade Commission, which some analysts have said could impact the future of U.S. anti-competitive law, the watchdog could take new legal action, and he has until July 28 to do so.
Investors saw it as an important victory for Facebook, which caused the share price to rise. Other tech giants, Apple and Alphabet, owners of Google, Microsoft and Amazon, have already exceeded $ 1,000 billion in valuation.
“No Act something in half a decade “
published photo, Getty Images
Separately, Justice Boasberg also dismissed a competitive action brought by a coalition of 45 US states with the Federal Trade Commission.
The lawsuit also sought to force Facebook to relinquish ownership of Instagram and WhatsApp. It is linked to Facebook’s acquisition of the two applications in 2012 and 2014.
In March, Facebook asked the US Federal Court to dismiss the lawsuit, calling the FTC’s complaint “unreasonable.”
The company said the FTC case “ignores the reality of the hyper-dynamic tech industry and the intense competition in which Facebook operates.”
In his ruling in the case, Judge Boasberg said states had failed to provide “reasonable justification” as to why they had waited six to eight years for a decision to sue Facebook – an argument the social media giant had already advanced.
He added that the states had not made “factual arguments” and had only made “a lukewarm claim that Facebook was not biased but (took advantage of the states’ failure to file the complaint earlier) that it was and remains a very profitable business “.
He noted that state claims made it easier to file lawsuits between 2012 and 2014, adding, “The antitrust enforcement system that Congress has instituted does not exempt plaintiffs here.[des conséquences de leur choix]to do nothing for the last half. -decade.”
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