WASHINGTON— Facebook Inc.
FB -0.20%
on Wednesday asked a federal judge to dismiss the antitrust lawsuits of the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general, arguing that government executors have no valid basis to allege the social media giant is suppressing competition.
The FTC “totally ignores the reality of the dynamic and intensely competitive high-tech industry in which Facebook operates,” the company said in an attempt to dismiss the commission’s case. In a second motion, Facebook argued that the case of states “does not and cannot claim that its citizens paid higher prices, that production was reduced, or that any objective measure of quality declined as a result of challenged actions. of Facebook “.
The company’s lawsuits in U.S. District Court in Washington mark its first legal salvation since the FTC and 46 states sued Facebook in December for allegations that the company has illegally preserved freezing monopoly status and buying potential competitors.
The FTC and states report that Facebook opted to buy companies instead of competing with them, with much of its cases focused on previous acquisitions of mobile messaging services company WhatsApp and Instagram, the photo-sharing platform.
The FTC previously allowed Facebook to make such acquisitions, but argues that time has shown that the company has used the deals to consolidate a monopoly position. States argue that the lack of competitors on Facebook has caused harm to consumers, including weakening privacy protections.
Facebook will have to meet a high legal standard to convince a federal judge to launch the cases before the trial. To prevail over a motion to dismiss, the company must demonstrate that the plaintiffs’ factual allegations about the nature of the market, even if accepted as true, do not establish any valid legal claim.
The FTC and states are due to respond to the motions in April.
New York State Attorney General Letitia James outlined an antitrust lawsuit against Facebook by the Federal Trade Commission and a bipartisan group of 46 state attorneys general, targeting the company’s tactics against competitors. Photo: Saul Loeb / AFP via Getty Images (video from 12/12/20
Facebook noted in its papers that the FTC lawsuit was made with a 3-2 vote and came at a time when the company was facing relentless criticism “for issues completely unrelated to concerns. antitrust “.
The company said the commission has not defined a relevant market that allegedly dominates Facebook. The company said almost all of Facebook’s revenue comes from advertising, which is an incessantly competitive market.
Facebook also argued that the FTC has not plausibly alleged that the company has monopoly power, because the government cannot prove that the company has increased prices or restricted production, as “Facebook’s products are offered free of charge and in unlimited quantities “.
The company has repeatedly stressed that the commission previously allowed it to acquire Instagram and WhatsApp in 2012 and 2014, respectively. The FTC reviewed those offers at the time and decided not to challenge them.
The FTC and states argue that these acquisitions have served to eliminate growing tech companies, whose popularity would have allowed them to become major rivals of Facebook.
The commission’s case, if successful, could lead to Facebook having to undo those offers.
Not all state and federal cases focused on Facebook acquisitions. Antitrust competition officials also alleged that Facebook was involved in other anti-competitive conduct, even cutting off access to its platform for third-party developers.
In response, Facebook in its legal documents said the Supreme Court precedent made it clear that it has no obligation to give other companies access to its platform.
Attacking the state case, the company argued that attorneys general did not have the proper legality to file a case on behalf of their citizens and claimed that the states had waited too long to sue.
Write to Brent Kendall to [email protected]
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