Explainer: The New US Lawsuits Against Facebook
2020-12-17
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1The U.S. government and several U.S. states have brought new lawsuits against Facebook.
2The cases accuse the company of abusing its market power in social networking to destroy smaller competitors.
3The accusers are seeking a judgment that could include forcing the company to sell off its Instagram and WhatsApp services.
4Here are some answers to the main questions about the case:
5One of the allegations against Facebook is that it purposefully seeks to buy possible competitors, often at a high price, before the companies have had a chance to grow.
6For example, Facebook bought Instagram in 2012, when it had no profits and only a few employees but a large number of users.
7In 2013, the company bought Onavo. Facebook said the company's services included a tool to help protect user data from third parties.
8But the social media service also used Onavo to collect data on mobile apps favored by Facebook users.
9The lawsuits allege that Onavo used this information to identify other takeover targets.
10One of those targets was WhatsApp, which Facebook bought in 2014.
11The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) also accuses Facebook of persuading small, new companies to join its network in order to make Facebook more likeable to users.
12But it required those companies not to compete with Facebook itself or the Facebook Messenger service.
13What did the FTC request?
14The FTC has wide powers in its legal requests.
15The agency asked the judge to force Facebook to sell assets, possibly including Instagram and WhatsApp.
16It also asked the judge to order Facebook to stop requiring small companies on its website not to compete with its services.
17How did Facebook react?
18Facebook said it is reviewing the FTC and state anti-competition cases.
19In a statement, the company said the government "now wants a do-over" after permitting its takeover of Instagram and WhatsApp years ago.
20It said the government has no respect for the effect that would have on the business community or "the people who choose our products every day."
21How long would a trial take?
22Legal experts say pre-trial hearings in the case and possible trials themselves would likely last a year or more.
23A decision could come months after that.
24Are the allegations political?
25President Donald Trump's administration has expressed anger against several technology companies for allegedly silencing conservatives.
26Many Republican lawmakers have also brought up the issue of unfairness during recent anti-competition hearings.
27Facebook notably conflicted with the administration when it added warnings to some of Trump's posts.
28Some of the warnings were related to unproven claims by Trump that the 2020 presidential election was not fair.
29The Facebook lawsuits follow a major case brought against Google in October by the U.S. Department of Justice.
30In that case, the government accuses Google of abusing its dominance in the online search and advertising markets.
31I'm Alice Bryant.
1The U.S. government and several U.S. states have brought new lawsuits against Facebook. The cases accuse the company of abusing its market power in social networking to destroy smaller competitors. The accusers are seeking a judgment that could include forcing the company to sell off its Instagram and WhatsApp services. 2Here are some answers to the main questions about the case: 3What are the allegations? 4One of the allegations against Facebook is that it purposefully seeks to buy possible competitors, often at a high price, before the companies have had a chance to grow. For example, Facebook bought Instagram in 2012, when it had no profits and only a few employees but a large number of users. 5In 2013, the company bought Onavo. Facebook said the company's services included a tool to help protect user data from third parties. But the social media service also used Onavo to collect data on mobile apps favored by Facebook users. The lawsuits allege that Onavo used this information to identify other takeover targets. One of those targets was WhatsApp, which Facebook bought in 2014. 6The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) also accuses Facebook of persuading small, new companies to join its network in order to make Facebook more likeable to users. But it required those companies not to compete with Facebook itself or the Facebook Messenger service. 7What did the FTC request? 8The FTC has wide powers in its legal requests. The agency asked the judge to force Facebook to sell assets, possibly including Instagram and WhatsApp. 9It also asked the judge to order Facebook to stop requiring small companies on its website not to compete with its services. 10How did Facebook react? 11Facebook said it is reviewing the FTC and state anti-competition cases. 12In a statement, the company said the government "now wants a do-over" after permitting its takeover of Instagram and WhatsApp years ago. It said the government has no respect for the effect that would have on the business community or "the people who choose our products every day." 13How long would a trial take? 14Legal experts say pre-trial hearings in the case and possible trials themselves would likely last a year or more. A decision could come months after that. 15Are the allegations political? 16President Donald Trump's administration has expressed anger against several technology companies for allegedly silencing conservatives. Many Republican lawmakers have also brought up the issue of unfairness during recent anti-competition hearings. 17Facebook notably conflicted with the administration when it added warnings to some of Trump's posts. Some of the warnings were related to unproven claims by Trump that the 2020 presidential election was not fair. 18The Facebook lawsuits follow a major case brought against Google in October by the U.S. Department of Justice. In that case, the government accuses Google of abusing its dominance in the online search and advertising markets. 19I'm Alice Bryant. 20This story contains content from Reuters and AP reports. Alice Bryant adapted them for Learning English. Bryan Lynn was the editor. 21________________________________________________________________ 22Words in This Story 23lawsuit - n. a process by which a court of law makes a decision to end a disagreement between people or organizations 24allegation - n. a statement saying that someone has done something wrong or illegal 25app - n. a computer program that performs a special function 26asset - n. something that is owned by a person or company 27post - n. a message put on social media 28dominance - n. the act of being more important, powerful, or successful than most or all others