All Script And Tols For Free: 🔍 The Facebook antitrust suit is a doozy

Dec 10, 2020

Good morning, Search Marketer, and that's a wrap.

SMX is in the books (and on demand). IPullRank's Mike King wowed the keynote audience with his creativity, knowledge and insights, and seriously strong t-shirt game. Thank you to all of the speakers who dedicated their time to share with the community and to everyone who attended, asked questions and joined the community meetups and to our sponsors.

The big news of the day came yesterday afternoon as the FTC and 46 State Attorneys General brought antitrust charges against Facebook, calling for Instagram and WhatsApp to be spun off. More on that below and to come on Search Engine Land.

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Ginny Marvin
Editor-In-Chief

Social Short

Facebook antitrust suit pushes for Instagram, WhatsApp divestiture

The FTC and a group of 46 State Attorneys General issued an anticipated antitrust lawsuit against Facebook on Wednesday. The suit charges Facebook with "illegally maintaining its personal social networking monopoly through a years-long course of anticompetitive conduct." The allegations are the results of a long investigation into the company's acquisitions, chiefly Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014 "and the imposition of anticompetitive conditions on software developers."

The FTC said it is seeking an injunction in federal court that could force Facebook to breakup its assets, potentially selling off Instagram and WhatsApp. Additionally, Facebook may be required to gain prior regulatory approval for future mergers and acquisitions.

Facebook responded in a statement Wednesday, "We're reviewing the complaints & will have more to say soon. Years after the FTC cleared our acquisitions, the government now wants a do-over with no regard for the impact that precedent would have on the broader business community or the people who choose our products every day."

Why we care. This marks the biggest antitrust effort from the U.S. government against big tech, and is very different than the Department of Justice's antitrust case against Google in which no specific similar remedies were discussed, notes Search Engine Land's Greg Sterling. The charges are also brought by a bipartisan group of Attorneys General representing nearly every state as well as Washington D.C. and Guam.

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