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A U.S. district judge dismissed the FTC's antitrust complaint against Facebook for lack of evidence and arguments supporting its claims.
Facebook's stock market value rose past $1 trillion after an antitrust lawsuit by the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general was dismissed on Monday by a D.C. federal court.
The complaint aimed to contest the social media platform's social networking monopoly in an attempt to control the tech giant. The dismissal of the lawsuit has forced many in Congress to urge for revisions to the antitrust laws in the United States to better handle monopolistic abuses in the online world.
Antitrust Complaint
The ruling, delivered by U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, questioned the authenticity of the claim that Facebook and other huge tech platforms are monopolies. The decision argues that despite their massive size and reach they cannot immediately be legally labeled as such.
Across the world, Facebook has more than 2.7 billion users, which makes it the largest social network worldwide. However, Boasberg argued prosecutors did not provide sufficient evidence or arguments that explain what social networking is. They also were not able to detail their calculations regarding their claims that the social media giant controls more than 60% of the market.
On dismissing the FTC's complaint, Boasberg said there was no clear indication or classification of what constitutes social networking services among Facebook's functions, including those on its mobile application, Politico reported.
Additionally, in a separate decision dismissing the state's case, Boasberg found out that the state attorneys general did not immediately challenge Facebook's purchase of Instagram in 2012, a dominant photo-sharing platform, and the social media giant's purchase of WhatsApp in 2014. The two incidents made Facebook much bigger than it originally was before having control of two additional platforms.
In a statement, Facebook welcomed the decision and said officials were working hard to provide services that their customers would be able to enjoy while using their platform. They noted they were fighting fairly within the market to earn their customer's attention and interest.
Monopolizing Social Networking
The FTC filed the complaint last December with the support of attorneys general from 48 states across the country. They argued that Facebook's acquisition of Instagram and WhatsApp was a part of the platform's strategy to eliminate competition and monopolize the social networking market.
While the ruling dismissed the current complaint, it was not the end of the case. The court acknowledged that the FTC has a chance to provide additional evidence to prove its claims and arguments, giving it the ability to file an amended complaint to continue the case, CNBC reported.
The dismissal of the complaint could potentially fuel more aggressive actions from officials as Congress is currently supporting sweeping tech antitrust reforms. The House Judiciary Committee approved a slate of bills last week that focused on controlling the market power of big techs. The legislation would include bans on large mergers and implement new interoperability requirements.
Rep. Ken Buck said Boasberg's ruling on the case showed how badly antitrust reform is needed in modern days. He urged Congress to provide additional tools and resources to fight against tech companies that are engaged in anticompetitive conduct, The Verge reported.
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