Many US states and the Federal Trade Commission have filed lawsuits against social media behemoth Facebook.
As reported by Reuters, the lawsuits could force Facebook to sell both WhatsApp and Instagram. The company acquired the platforms in 2012 and 2014, having paid $1 billion for Instagram and $19 billion for WhatsApp, respectively.
The states and organisation that filed the lawsuits have insisted that the social media firm has used anti-competitive practices to get ahead. Moreover, only Alabama, South Dakota, South Carolina and Georgia have not filed a lawsuit.
“For nearly a decade, Facebook has used its dominance and monopoly power to crush smaller rivals, snuff out competition, all at the expense of everyday users,” said New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Fight for fairness
However, Facebook has every intention of fighting to keep its company together. The social media giant’s general counsel Jennifer Newstead claimed: “The government now wants a do-over, sending a chilling warning to American business that no sale is ever final.”
Moreover, she pointed out that just because Facebook is successful, that does not mean that it has breached any antitrust laws.
Facebook has faced monopoly allegations before. Earlier this year, the US antitrust committee completed a year-long investigation into not only the social media company but Amazon, Google and Apple as well.
