Nearly 50 U.S. attorneys general have filed an antitrust suit against Facebook, making it the second Big Tech company to face the legal allegations. The AGs say Facebook’s practice of buying up competitors, such as WhatsApp and Instagram, removes alternatives from the market that could better protect consumer privacy.
Syracuse University professors Shubha Ghosh (legal expertise) and Jennifer Grygiel (social media expertise) provide written comments below that can be re-published. They are also available for interviews.
Shubha Ghosh
“I predicted that the Federal Trade Commission might follow up against Facebook in the wake of the Department of Justice’s suit against Google. Neither suit is surprising. The Facebook suit is difficult because it seeks to undo an acquisition approved by the Obama administration. An interesting question is how the Biden administration will approach this matter. While the FTC composition will not change immediately under the new administration, a new AG and AAG might put pressure on the FTC to change their approach to the suit. In any case, the Facebook lawsuit will not be a simple one and will pose challenges for proving a violation and imposing a remedy.”
Shubha Ghosh, Crandall Melvin Professor of Law at Syracuse University
Director, Intellectual Property and Technology Commercialization Curricular Program
Director, Syracuse Intellectual Property Law Institute (SIPLI)
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Jennifer Grygiel
“It’s concerning that Facebook has framed this as revisionist history. Regulators approved the acquisitions given certain terms and the sales also took place at a time when the depth of the company’s harmful business practices were not evident. I don’t think these would be approved today and anti-trust action is how you deal with abusive companies. It is now widely known that Facebook is an unethical and out of control corporation. This is evident given that there is almost unanimous consent amongst state attorneys general.”
Jennifer Grygiel, Assistant Professor of Communications at Syracuse University’s Newhouse School (*they/them)
Expert on social media, memes, state media and content moderation
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