#lawsuit parties are hard long arduous and many times not worth it

[haewangsong]

if anyone believes in the bullshit kjh put out i pray for you that you never work in a field in which you'd need help from unions

[kyprelaw]

Antitrust Lawsuits: The Federal Trade Commission Against Facebook Monopolies

By Lakin Greene, Murray State University Class of 2021

February 24, 2021

The United States, dominated by a free market, has often been a historic battleground between companies and laws attempting to regulate them. Companies who attempted to monopolize through bad business practices and mergers were seen as monopolizing the economy to the detriment of the consumer, and antitrust laws were set in place to regulate their practices. This was a hot button issue in the 19th century, although it’s fallen out of attention in recent years.

These days, however, these antitrust laws have begun to see some renewed action in the legal field with the filing of lawsuits against Facebook and other tech companies. Since 2012 with the purchase of Instagram, Facebook has been seen as a figure of controversy for its attempts at thwarting competition by buying other platforms out. Now, as of December 2020, the government is keen to act in order to avoid a corporate monopoly in the Big Tech world.

According to the Federal Trade Commission, the Sherman Act was put into place in 1890 to restrict Standard Oil businesses, “aimed at preserving free and unfettered competition as the rule of trade.” [1] Later, in 1914, two additional acts were passed to bolster the same restrictions and regulations on large companies, the Clayton Act and the Federal Trade Commission Act.

By issuing lawsuits under these antitrust law acts, the government wishes to force Facebook to sell companies that they’ve purchased in order to prevent the growth of a Big Tech monopoly among businesses, according to several sources. According to the laws, Facebook’s practices are a violation of antitrust restrictions and these practices are now the subject of the Federal Trade Commission, who issued the complaints. Facebook, by buying out Instagram and other social media companies, is shooing out the competition to keep themselves safe. [2]

Some believe that this is hardly worth noting, much less issuing a lawsuit over. Facebook’s general counsel head Jennifer Newstead considers the lawsuits “revisionist history” and an attempt by the government to issue unnecessary control over the growth of successful companies. [3]

However, the FTC made public an exchange between Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and former chief financial officer David Ebersman which revealed that buying such works like Instagram was a clear attempt to thwart competition. [4] Many could, thus, say that Facebook would be in clear violation of the law. However, the legal battle is only just beginning.

Lawsuits are not known for their speedy trials and resolutions. According to Zuckerberg, Facebook would be gearing up for a fight “going to the mat,” calling such legal disputes to its buying power “an existential threat.” [5] Forbes reports that the case will take “years” to be processed through the federal courts, even longer with the amount of appeals expected to come from the battle. [6]

The other issue is that, often, legal cases take awhile to assemble. Factual problems, legal problems, fights between two parties that can take weeks on each end to assemble thorough legal documents in negotiations and deals, all of this drags the issue out, and some have noted that the FTC’s case against Facebook is rather weak compared to other antitrust lawsuits. [7]

Facebook’s purchase of Instagram happened in 2012, and since then the company has purchased several more online platforms. The FTC had, in fact, put the matter under investigation back then, but reportedly the matter was put to rest. [8] By bringing the issue back up in late 2020, the FTC risks a losing case and increased difficulties ordering the split of tech giants that have, for about six to eight years now, been effectively merged.

The caution over Big Tech monopolies is a real thing to many people. The FTC’s renewed interest in Facebook’s growing presence is at the forefront of other similar cases in which the historic antitrust laws are being enacted to bring Big Tech to heel. Microsoft and Google are such companies being targeted.

But legal cases take a long time, and for many of these battles between the government and these mega-corporations, tackling them with lawsuits is just the beginning of a very long, arduous battle to come. Ultimately, it may see the rise of increased regulations as the historic antitrust laws are put to more use since the last few decades, but it is hard to say. Many will simply have to see what comes out of it, or if anything will come out of it at all.

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[1] “The Antitrust Laws,” Federal Trade Commission. Retrieved February 19, 2021 from https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/competition-guidance/guide-antitrust-laws/antitrust-laws.

[2] (December 9, 2020) “FTC Sues Facebook for Illegal Monopolization,” Federal Trade Commission. From https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2020/12/ftc-sues-facebook-illegal-monopolization.

[3] Bartz, Diane, Nandita Bose, and Katie Paul (December 9, 2020) “Facebook faces U.S. lawsuits that could force sale of Instagram, WhatsApp,” Reuters. From https://www.reuters.com/article/us-tech-antitrust-facebook/facebook-faces-u-s-lawsuits-that-could-force-sale-of-instagram-whatsapp-idUSKBN28J2UL.

[4] (July 30, 2020) “Mark Zuckerberg bought Instagram as it was a 'threat' to Facebook,” Business Standard. From https://www.business-standard.com/article/international/mark-zuckerberg-bought-instagram-as-it-was-a-threat-to-facebook-120073000324_1.html.

[5] Bartz, Diane, et al. “Facebook faces U.S. lawsuits.”

[6] Smith, Kelly Anne (January 28, 2021) “What You Need To Know About The Facebook Antitrust Lawsuit,” Forbes. From https://www.forbes.com/advisor/investing/facebook-antitrust-lawsuit/#:~:text=In%20December%202020%2C%20the%20Federal,unwind%20these%20two%20major%20acquisitions.

[7] Bartz, Diane, et al. “Facebook faces U.S. lawsuits.”

[8] (July 30, 2020) “Mark Zuckerberg bought Instagram as it was a 'threat' to Facebook.”