A bipartisan group of US antitrust lawmakers called on the Federal Trade Commission to continue its lawsuit against Facebook on Friday, according to a statement by Senator Amy Klobuchar.
In a letter to new FTC Chairman Lina Khan demanded Klobuchar, Sen. Mike Lee and Reps. David Cicilline and Ken Buck urged the FTC to « pursue enforcement actions against Facebook and consider all options available under the law to ensure that the commission’s requests receive a full and fair hearing. »
Klobuchar and Cicilline , both Democrats, and Lee and Buck, both Republicans, hold top positions on the antitrust boards of Congress.
The FTC is expected to file a new complaint against Facebook after District of Columbia District Judge James Boasberg filed one in December has dismissed the filed suit, experts said.
This complaint, in which he was asked to ask Facebook to sell the photo sharing app Instagram and the messaging app WhatsApp, fell short, Boasberg said the FTC failed to demonstrate that the company had monopoly power and cases of suspected anti-competitive behavior were too old.
Several discovered Your FTC officials said it was implausible that the agency had no data to back up their claim that Facebook has « more than 60 percent » of the social media market.
« He told them, ‘Me won’t read a newspaper and believe Facebook is a monopoly, ‘ »said Andy Gavil, an FTC veteran who teaches at Howard University School of Law.
Facebook has declined to comment on this story. A previous comment indicated that Instagram and WhatsApp have grown mightily under the direction of Facebook. It said it would vigorously fight the FTC in court.
The FTC, under new leadership, could draft a much broader complaint and submit it to an FTC administrative judge, essentially handling the case internally.
William Kovacic, former FTC chairman now at George Washington University Law School, said a new complaint could add allegations, including potentially unfair competitive practices.
« This is an issue that she (Khan) talks about with many Opportunities spoke and wrote, « he said.
» If those layoffs make the difference, it’s about doing something. If the government could win even modestly in these cases, that is an argument not to do anything, ”said Herb Hovenkamp of the University of Pennsylvania’s Carey Law School.
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