WASHINGTON — The Federal Trade Commission and 48 states accused Facebook on Wednesday of becoming a social media monopoly by illegally squashing competition by buying up its rivals, setting up fierce legal confrontations that could dismantle some of the world’s most popular communication services.
Federal and state regulators, who have been investigating the company for over a year, said in separate lawsuits that Facebook’s purchases, especially Instagram for $1 billion in 2012 and WhatsApp for $19 billion two years later, eliminated competition that could have one day challenged the company’s dominance.
Since those deals, Instagram and WhatsApp have skyrocketed in popularity, giving Facebook control over three of the world’s most popular social media and messaging apps. The applications have helped catapult Facebook from a company started in a college dorm room 16 years ago to an internet powerhouse valued at more than $800 billion.
The prosecutors called for Facebook to unwind Instagram and WhatsApp and for new restrictions on future deals.
“For nearly a decade, Facebook has used its dominance and monopoly power to crush smaller rivals and snuff out competition, all at the expense of everyday users,” said Attorney General Letitia James of New York, who led the multistate investigation into the company’s in parallel with the federal agency.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
