The U.S. government and 48 states and districts
sued Facebook Wednesday, accusing it of
abusing its market power in social networking
to crush smaller competitors and seeking
remedies that could include a forced spinoff of
the social network’s Instagram and WhatsApp
messaging services.
The landmark antitrust lawsuits, announced by
the Federal Trade Commission and New York
Attorney General Letitia James, mark the second
major government offensive this year against
seemingly untouchable tech behemoths. The
Justice Department sued Google in October
for abusing its dominance in online search
and advertising — the government’s most
significant attempt to buttress competition
since its historic case against Microsoft two
decades ago. Amazon and Apple also have been
under investigation in Congress and by federal
authorities for alleged anticompetitive conduct.Image: Kathy Willens