Officials at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) are considering the possibility of a preliminary injunction against Facebook over antitrust issues related to how the social media giant’s apps interact with each other, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal.
The crux of the case would involve Facebook’s policies on the integration of its apps and whether it harms competition with rivals. Facebook owns Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp.
Action by the FTC would probably involve an order that would force Facebook to stop enforcing its policies regarding apps, as well as blocking it from integrating apps any further, which could complicate things if the company is eventually ordered to break up.
In order to seek an injunction, which would need to be filed in federal court, a majority of the five-member FTC would need to agree to it.
The idea that the FTC would seek an injunction over “interoperability” rules concerning the social media giant has been floating around for some time. The FTC action could happen as soon as next month.
“There are privacy and security advantages to interoperability,” Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote in a Facebook post in March. “With the ability to message across our services … you’d be able to send an encrypted message to someone’s phone number in WhatsApp from Messenger.”
Columbia University law professor Tim Wu, who used to be a senior adviser for the FTC, said the injunction would help put the FTC in a strategically beneficial place.
“The advantages are that it gets things moving, and sort of forces things to a judicial decision very quickly,” Wu said, “as opposed to having an antitrust investigation going for five years … The burdens of proof can be higher for the government, but if they’ve got a good case it can be advantageous.”
Wu said he views Facebook’s move to closer integrate its properties as a way to hide its anticompetitive ambitions.
Featured News
UK Probes Lindab’s Acquisition of HAS-Vent Amid Fears of Market Monopoly
Apr 28, 2024 by
CPI
Shein Faces EU Regulations Over User Data
Apr 28, 2024 by
CPI
Google Fights Back Against US Antitrust Lawsuit
Apr 28, 2024 by
CPI
US Homeland Security Establishes Blue-Ribbon Board with Tech CEOs to Advise on AI
Apr 28, 2024 by
CPI
FTC Accuses Amazon Executives of Using Disappearing Messaging Apps to Conceal Evidence
Apr 28, 2024 by
CPI
Antitrust Mix by CPI
Antitrust Chronicle® – Economics of Criminal Antitrust
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
Navigating Economic Expert Work in Criminal Antitrust Litigation
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
The Increased Importance of Economics in Cartel Cases
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
A Law and Economics Analysis of the Antitrust Treatment of Physician Collective Price Agreements
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
Information Exchange In Criminal Antitrust Cases: How Economic Testimony Can Tip The Scales
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI