The FTC & Meta At Odds Over Antitrust Trial Date

US FTC and Facebooks parent company, Meta Platforms are at odds over when to start a high-profile antitrust trial, reported Reuters. The Federal Trade Commission is proposing December 2023 and Facebook is asking for more time to prepare.

According to a joint filing in the US District Court in Washington late on Tuesday, the FTC proposed a Dec. 11, 2023, start date to allow time for discovery, including document and data production.

Representatives for Meta, which includes Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, called the proposed schedule “unrealistic as well as unfair to Meta” and said it needed until Feb. 13, 2024, to complete discovery.

Last month, a US judge rejected the social media company’s bid to dismiss the government’s lawsuit and said the FTC had a plausible case that should allow it to proceed.

In the lawsuit, the US government accuses Meta of crushing or buying rivals and seeks to force the company to sell photo-sharing app Instagram and messaging app WhatsApp.

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