Facebook hit with far-reaching antitrust complaints from Federal Trade Commission and states
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge On Wednesday, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced a massive antitrust lawsuit against Facebook, claiming the social media giant has harmed competition by buying up smaller companies like Instagram and WhatsApp to squash the threat they posed to its business. Forty-seven other state and regional attorneys general are joining the suit.
The lawsuit centers on Facebook's history of acquisitions starting, particularly its $1 billion purchase of Instagram in 2011. In emails revealed by the House of Representatives' antitrust subcommittee hearing this past summer, Zuckerberg characterized his intent to buy Instagram in emails to his David Ebersman, then Facebook's chief financial officer, as both a way to neutralize a competitor...