Antitrust probe: US FTC could sue Facebook by Nov end

San Francisco: The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) could file a lawsuit against Facebook alleging antitrust violations before the end of this month, news website Politico reported.

The suit is likely to allege that Facebook harmed competition by acquiring smaller rivals and maintained a stranglehold on user data, said the report on Friday, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter.

“It could ultimately force Facebook to unwind its acquisitions of photo-sharing app Instagram and messaging platform WhatsApp,” said the report, adding that FTC Chair Joe Simons is in favour of handling the case internally, bringing it before the agency’s administrative law judge.