District court dismisses FTC lawsuit against Facebook

CNBC Television published this video item, entitled “District court dismisses FTC lawsuit against Facebook” – below is their description.

Facebook shares are moving higher after a court dismissed the FTC’s lawsuit against the social media giant. CNBC’s Julia Boorstin reports on the court’s opinion. Subscribe to CNBC PRO for access to investor and analyst insights on Facebook and more: https://cnb.cx/3dIH56N

A federal court on Monday dismissed the Federal Trade Commission’s antitrust complaint against Facebook, dealing a major setback for the agency’s complaint that could have resulted in Facebook divesting Instagram and WhatsApp.

Shares of Facebook rose more than 3% on Monday following the complaint’s dismissal, sending the social media company’s market capitalization above $1 trillion for the first time.

“Although the Court does not agree with all of Facebook’s contentions here, it ultimately concurs that the agency’s Complaint is legally insufficient and must therefore be dismissed,” reads the filing from U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. “The FTC has failed to plead enough facts to plausibly establish a necessary element of all of its Section 2 claims — namely, that Facebook has monopoly power in the market for Personal Social Networking (PSN) Services.”

In the filing, the court states that the FTC did not prove Facebook maintains a monopoly.

“The Court agrees that the first — the possession of monopoly power in the market for Personal Social Networking Services (as defined by the agency) — is not adequately pleaded here,” the filing reads. “No more is needed to conclude that the Complaint must be dismissed.”

The court found the FTC did not provide enough detailed data to prove Facebook has market power in the loosely defined market for Personal Social Networking Services.

“The Complaint is undoubtedly light on specific factual allegations regarding consumer-switching preferences,” the court wrote. “These allegations — which do not even provide an estimated actual figure or range for Facebook’s market share at any point over the past ten years — ultimately fall short of plausibly establishing that Facebook holds market power.”

The filing notes that the FTC’s complaint lacked any specific evidence.

“The FTC’s Complaint says almost nothing concrete on the key question of how much power Facebook actually had, and still has, in a properly defined antitrust product market,” the filings reads. “It is almost as if the agency expects the Court to simply nod to the conventional wisdom that Facebook is a monopolist.”

The court also disagreed with Facebook’s argument that the FTC does not have the power to attack the acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp, which took place in 2012 and 2014. On the contrary, it ruled that the FTC can still seek divestiture of these acquisitions — but only if it succeeds in its legal arguments about Facebook’s monopoly power.

The ruling is not necessarily the end of the case. The court acknowledged that the FTC may be able to cure the weaknesses in its argument so left open the possibility that it could file an amended complaint and continue the litigation.

» Subscribe to CNBC TV: https://cnb.cx/SubscribeCNBCtelevision

» Subscribe to CNBC: https://cnb.cx/SubscribeCNBC

» Subscribe to CNBC Classic: https://cnb.cx/SubscribeCNBCclassic

Turn to CNBC TV for the latest stock market news and analysis. From market futures to live price updates CNBC is the leader in business news worldwide.

The News with Shepard Smith is CNBC’s daily news podcast providing deep, non-partisan coverage and perspective on the day’s most important stories. Available to listen by 8:30pm ET / 5:30pm PT daily beginning September 30: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/09/29/the-news-with-shepard-smith-podcast.html?__source=youtube%7Cshepsmith%7Cpodcast

Connect with CNBC News Online

Get the latest news: http://www.cnbc.com/

Follow CNBC on LinkedIn: https://cnb.cx/LinkedInCNBC

Follow CNBC News on Facebook: https://cnb.cx/LikeCNBC

Follow CNBC News on Twitter: https://cnb.cx/FollowCNBC

Follow CNBC News on Instagram: https://cnb.cx/InstagramCNBC

https://www.cnbc.com/select/best-credit-cards/

#CNBC

#CNBCTV

CNBC Television YouTube Channel

Got a comment? Leave your thoughts in the comments section, below. Please note comments are moderated before publication.


About This Source - CNBC Television

CNBC is an American pay television business news channel, which primarily carries business day coverage of U.S. and international financial markets. Following the end of the business day and on non-trading days, CNBC primarily carries financial and business-themed documentaries and reality shows.

As of February 2015, CNBC is available to approximately 93,623,000 pay television households (80.4% of households with television) in the United States.

Recent from CNBC Television:

The narrative behind big tech is 'very strong', they are must own stocks, says laffer tengler ceo 1

The narrative behind Big Tech is ‘very strong’, they are must own stocks, says Laffer Tengler CEO

The Biden campaign can’t fix messaging around age, says Mick Mulvaney

Last Call panel weighs in on Sports Illustrated laying off entire staff

In This Story: 2012

2012 is a film directed by Roland Emmerich and released in 2009. The film depicts a natural disaster in which the Earth’s core heats up, causes unprecedented solar storms and ultimately wipes out most of the world’s population in a major flood.

1 Recent Items: 2012

Born in Chile, Raised in Rome | A Chat with Pizarro | Serie A 2023/24

In This Story: Podcast

A podcast is an episodic series of digital audio files that a user can download to a personal device for easy listening.

3 Recent Items: Podcast

Would you rather have Belichick or Harbaugh? | The Will Cain Show

Who’s the most clinical? Callum Wilson or Michail Antonio? | Footballer’s Football Podcast

Inside story of Perth’s epic BBL|12 Final run chase | KFC BBL

Leave a Comment

We don't require your email address, or your name, for anyone to leave a comment. If you do add an email address, you may be notified if there are replies to your comment - we won't use it for any other purpose. Please make respectful comments, which add value, and avoid personal attacks on others. Links are not allowed in comments - 99% of spam comments, attempt to post links. Please describe where people may find additional information - for example "visit the UN website" or "search Google for..." rather than posting a link. Comments failing to adhere to these guidelines will not be published.