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States preparing to file antitrust lawsuit against Facebook, reports say

States preparing to file antitrust lawsuit against Facebook, reports say
Posted at 1:13 PM, Dec 03, 2020
and last updated 2020-12-03 14:13:53-05

Attorneys general from several states plan to jointly file new antitrust litigation against Facebook in the coming days, according to reports from CNBC and the Wall Street Journal.

According to CNBC, as many as 40 states are expected to join New York in suing the social media giant. The report also says that the Federal Trade Commission could file a separate but related complaint in district court.

While the specifics of the pending lawsuit are unclear, Facebook has been criticized for swallowing up competitors, like Instagram and WhatsApp for fairly reasonable prices.

The pending lawsuit would mark the second significant piece of legislation filed against a Silicon Valley giant in recent months. In October, the Justice Department sued Alphabet, the parent company of Google, and alleged the company is a search engine monopoly.