Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Jun 24, 2025

Facebook hit with 2 massive antitrust lawsuits from the FTC and 46 states seeking to spin off Instagram and WhatsApp

Facebook hit with 2 massive antitrust lawsuits from the FTC and 46 states seeking to spin off Instagram and WhatsApp

The two lawsuits revolve around Facebook's acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp and could have massive implications for the tech giant.
Facebook just got hit with two big antitrust lawsuits.

The suits were filed on Wednesday by the Federal Trade Commission and 48 state attorneys general. Both revolve around Facebook's acquisitions of the photo-sharing app Instagram and the encrypted messaging app WhatsApp.

The lawsuits allege that Facebook used a strategy of neutralizing competitors before they could threaten the company's dominance of the social-media market. The suits call out Facebook's decisions to buy rather than compete with Instagram and WhatsApp, and they allege it imposed "anticompetitive conditions" on software developers.

Both complaints seek relief if the lawsuits are successful, including a court injunction that would require Facebook's "divestiture of assets" in Instagram and WhatsApp. Additionally, Facebook could be required to get approval from the government before any mergers or acquisitions in the future.

Facebook obtained regulatory approval when it bought Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014, but lawmakers have recently scrutinized the acquisitions.

The coalition of attorneys general, led by New York Attorney General Letitia James, began an investigation into Facebook in September 2019, and the FTC subsequently joined. Attorneys general from 46 states as well as Washington, DC, and Guam have signed on to the lawsuit. The only states whose attorneys general have not signed on are Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, and South Dakota.

Facebook said on Wednesday that it was reviewing the complaints and would have "more to say soon."

"Years after the FTC cleared our acquisitions, the government now wants a do-over with no regard for the impact that precedent would have on the broader business community or the people who choose our products every day," Facebook said.

Facebook was also part of a broad House Judiciary Committee antitrust investigation this year that looked into the tech giant's acquisitions of smaller companies. Officials are closing in on establishing regulation in the tech world, a move that's become heavily politicized as Republicans and Democrats spar over Section 230 protections.

Emails from 2012 released as part of that investigation revealed Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's thinking about acquiring Instagram at the time. Zuckerberg, who deemed Instagram a "threat" to Facebook, reasoned that buying the photo-sharing app would be a way to "neutralize" its success.

"One way of looking at this is that what we're really buying is time. Even if some new competitors springs up, buying Instagram, Path, Foursquare, etc now will give us a year or more to integrate their dynamics before anyone can get close to their scale again," Zuckerberg said in the email.

Rep. David Cicilline, who led the House investigation, said that Facebook's acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp were "classic monopoly behavior" and that he thought the company should be broken up.

At an antitrust hearing in July, congressional lawmakers grilled Zuckerberg about what motivated the company to acquire Instagram and WhatsApp, popular platforms that would have been competitors had Facebook not purchased them.

Zuckerberg said he viewed Instagram as "a competitor and a complement to our services."

This isn't the first time Facebook has faced off against the FTC. The agency fined Facebook $5 billion in July 2019 over its handling of the Cambridge Analytica data breach.

The lawsuit against Facebook is the second major piece of legal action this year aimed at big tech, following a Department of Justice lawsuit filed against Google in October.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Airlines Evaluate Flight Cancellations Amid Escalating US-Iran Tensions
Starmer Invites Innovators to Join Government Talent Scheme
UK Economy’s Strong Opening Quarter Shows Signs of Cooling
Harrods Seeks Court Order to Secure Al Fayed Estate for Victims
BA and Singapore Airlines Cancel Dubai Flights Amid Middle East Tensions
Trump Faces Backlash from MAGA Base Over Iran Strikes
Meta Bets $14 B on Alexandr Wang to Drive AI Ambitions
WATCH: Israeli forces show the aftermath of a massive airstrike at Iran's Isfahan nuclear site
FedEx Founder Fred Smith, ‘Heart and Soul’ of the Company, Dies at 80
Chinese Factories Shift Away from U.S. Amid Trump‑Era Tariffs
Pimco Seizes Opportunity in Japan’s Dislocated Bond Market
Labubu Doll Drives Pop Mart to Status as China’s Most Valuable Toy Maker
Global Coal Demand Defies Paris Accord Goals
We have new information and breaking details to share about what is shaping up to be a historic air campaign tonight
Six Massive Bombs Dropped on Fordow; Trump: 'A Historic Moment for the U.S., Israel, and the World'
Fordow: Deeply Buried Iranian Enrichment Site in U.S.–Israel Crosshairs
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
Pakistan to nominate Trump for Nobel Peace Prize.
BBC Demands Perplexity AI Immediately Stop Using Its Content
Telegram Founder: I Will Leave My Fortune to Over 100 of My Children
Political Turmoil Resurfaces in Belgium Amid Economic Concerns
Fed policymakers divided on timing of interest rate cuts
Trump signals imminent agreement with Harvard University
Inheritance tax referendum alarms Swiss billionaire community
Japan cancels bilateral security meeting amid US defence demands
AI skeptic Emily Bender warns that ‘the emperor has no clothes’
Israel Confirms Assassination of Quds Force Commander in Tehran
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
Iranian Military Officers Reportedly Seek Contact with Reza Pahlavi, Signal Intent to Defect
FBI and Senate Investigate Allegations of Chinese Plot to Influence the 2020 Election in Biden’s Favor Using Fake U.S. Driver’s Licenses
Vietnam Emerges as Luxury Yacht Destination for Ultra‑Rich
Plans to Sell Dutch Embassy in Bangkok Face Local Opposition
China's Iranian Oil Imports Face Disruption Amid Escalating Middle East Tensions
Trump's $5 Million 'Trump Card' Visa Program Draws Nearly 70,000 Applicants
DGCA Finds No Major Safety Concerns in Air India's Boeing 787 Fleet
Airlines Reroute Flights Amid Expanding Middle East Conflict Zones
Elon Musk's xAI Seeks $9.3 Billion in Funding Amid AI Expansion
Trump Demands Iran's Unconditional Surrender Amid Escalating Conflict
Israeli Airstrike Targets Iranian State TV in Central Tehran
President Trump is leaving the G7 summit early and has ordered the National Security Council to the Situation Room
Taiwan Imposes Export Ban on Chips to Huawei and SMIC
Israel has just announced plans to strike Tehran again, and in response, Trump has urged people to evacuate
Netanyahu Signals Potential Regime Change in Iran
Juncker Criticizes EU Inaction on Trump Tariffs
EU Proposes Ban on New Russian Gas Contracts
Analysts Warn Iran May Resort to Unconventional Warfare
Iranian Regime Faces Existential Threat Amid Conflict
×