US judge rejects Facebook’s request to drop monopoly case | New Technologies

Facebook is facing a government monopoly lawsuit alleging the company abused its dominance, a judge ruled.

Meta Platforms Inc.’s Facebook has to face a U.S. government monopoly lawsuit alleging that the company abused its dominance and should have been broken, a judge ruled.

U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg of Washington denied Facebook’s motion to dismiss a revised complaint against the Federal Trade Commission’s competition, and the agency re-filed it in June after the judge dismissed the case. Boasberg said in his ruling that the FTC’s allegations are “stronger and more accurate.”

“The FTC has reported enough incidents now to ensure that Facebook has monopoly power,” the judge wrote. “The agency also explained that Facebook not only has monopoly power, but has deliberately maintained that power through anti-competitive behavior.”

The decision is a huge victory for the FTC and President Lina Khan, who took over the case when President Joe Biden appointed him to head the agency. The FTC filed a new complaint in August with new details to strengthen the agency’s claim that Facebook is dominated by market shares in the U.S. personal social media market and has the power to exclude competition. The case calls for a court order for Facebook to cancel its Instagram and WhatsApp purchases.

U.S. Federal Trade Commission v. Facebook Inc., 20-3590, is the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.