Facebook moves to dismiss federal, state antitrust suits

Washington: Facebook has asked a court to dismiss state and federal antitrust lawsuits that accuse it of abusing its market power in social networking to crush smaller competitors. The social media giant said Wednesday that the complaints “do not credibly claim” that its conduct harmed either consumers or market competition.

The antitrust suits, filed in December by the Federal Trade Commission and 48 states, are seeking remedies that could include a forced spinoff of the social network’s popular Instagram and WhatsApp services.

“As we said when the FTC and the state attorneys general announced these lawsuits, people around the world use our products not because they have to, but because we make their lives better,” Facebook said in a statement.