Facebook challenges US govt’s landmark antitrust case, asks court to shelve case

Facebook has challenged the US Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) landmark antitrust case against the company. The social media giant asked a judge to throw out the case, calling it “nonsensical” in its complaint. The FTC’s lawsuit accused Facebook of anti-competitive behaviour and requested the court to break up Facebook’s acquisition of WhatsApp and Instagram.

“The FTC has not alleged facts amounting to a plausible antitrust case. The FTC’s case against Facebook ignores the reality of the dynamic, intensely competitive high-tech industry in which Facebook operates,” the company said in a blog post. The company claims the FTC hasn’t “plausibly alleged unlawful exclusionary conduct”, and that it has failed to establish how Facebook is a monopoly power.

Further, the lawsuit also reiterates a complaint Facebook has repeated often since December. “The states waited far too long to act — far longer than the four years that is the outer limit of the yardstick for laches when states and private parties sue under federal antitrust laws,” the company said in its blog post. “Facebook would be unfairly prejudiced if the case were allowed to proceed,” the post added.