US gets ‘second time lucky’ in reviving Facebook monopoly case

The FTC is seeking a court order to unwind Facebook’s acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp, arguing the two deals – which the FTC initially approved – were part of a pattern by Facebook and chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg to eliminate companies as competitive threats by buying them. — AFP

Meta Platforms Inc’s Facebook must face the US government’s monopoly lawsuit alleging that the company abused its dominance and should be broken up, a judge ruled.

US District Judge James Boasberg in Washington Tuesday denied Facebook’s motion to dismiss the Federal Trade Commission’s revised antitrust complaint, which the agency refiled after the judge in June dismissed the case. Boasberg, who started his opinion by writing, “Second time lucky?”, said the FTC’s allegations “are far more robust and detailed than before”.