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ARTICLE · 11 JANUARY 2021

Facebook Competition Lawsuit Links Privacy As Anti-competitive Harm To Users

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On December 9, twin U.S. lawsuits against Facebook were launched that will shape the competition and privacy landscape for years to come.

CanadaAntitrust/Competition Law
Dany Assaf
Dany Assaf
Molly Reynolds
Molly Reynolds
Zirjan Derwa
Zirjan Derwa
Ronak Shah
Ronak Shah
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On December 9, twin U.S. lawsuits against Facebook were launched that will shape the competition and privacy landscape for years to come. They were initiated by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and a coalition of Attorneys General from 48 U.S. states and territories 1. They both allege that Facebook is illegally maintaining its monopoly in the U.S. personal social networking services market through a persistent pattern of anti-competitive conduct which includes acquiring nascent rivals, most significantly Instagram and WhatsApp.  

What you need to know

  • These lawsuits follow a recent trend of worldwide government inquiries and anti-trust lawsuits and investigations seeking to address market dominance and future innovation in Big Tech. The Facebook challenges come at the same time as three U.S. anti-trust cases against Google alleging that, among other things, Google monopolized the search and search advertising markets through an array of anti-competitive

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