The US Federal Trade Commission and nearly all federal states sued Facebook for an alleged breach of the antitrust laws. The Commission announced that it would demand a decision which, among other things, would require Facebook to give up its acquisitions, including Instagram and WhatsApp.

The coalition of the US state also demands Facebook’ ownership over other SoMe platforms be deemed illegal.

– For nearly a decade, Facebook has used its dominance and monopoly power to crush smaller rivals and snuff out competition, all at the expense of everyday users – said Attorney General of New York Letitia James.

She notes that the company is using huge amounts of money to take over rivals before they threaten Facebook’s dominance.

The company says that it is considering suits but that such a precedent would affect a larger business community and people who choose their products every day.

Facebook is the second tech company facing such legal challenge, after the US Department of Justice sued Google out of similar reasons in October.

Following the news, Facebook shares fell by three percent.

Source: RTS