As a result, Facebook’s strategy harmed competition, left consumers with few choices for personal social networking, and deprived advertisers of the benefits of competition, according to the FTC.
The Commission note in its lawsuit that Facebook is the most dominant personal social networking service worldwide. It “has monopoly power” in the personal social networking services market. The company’s market dominance allowed it to generate staggering revenues of more than $70 billion and profits of over $18.5 billion, last year alone.
In a statement, FTC Bureau of Competition Director Ian Conner said, “Personal social networking is central to the lives of millions of Americans. Facebook’s actions to entrench and maintain its monopoly deny consumers the benefits of competition. Our aim is to roll back Facebook’s anticompetitive conduct and restore competition so that innovation and free competition can thrive.”
The FTC is asking the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to grant a permanent injunction against Facebook. It is also asking the court to require the social network giant to divest assets including Instagram and WhatsApp, prohibit it from imposing anticompetitive conditions on software developers; and require Facebook to seek prior notice and approval for future mergers and acquisitions.
