Facebook Appeals to Dismiss Some of its Cases

On Wednesday, in the two motions filled, Facebook asked the courts to dismiss some of the sweeping competition cases by the federal and coalition states. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and a state attorney general group filed separate lawsuits against Facebook the last December. They accused the tech giant of engaging in anti-competitive behavior.

Both the lawsuits claim to have similar issues. They claim that Facebook bought Instagram and WhatsApp to squash the competition and rivalry. Adding to this, attorneys also allege the giant of using its market dominance to stifle the growth of other competing services. The FTC’s case also asks the court to unwind Facebook’s acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp into separate entities like before.

To dismiss the cases Facebook said in its motion, it claims that the lawsuit is alleging them of apps that were two “potential” competitors and not a threat to Facebook’s survival. The FTC declined to comment on this statement by Facebook.

On Wednesday, New York Attorney General Letitia James said, “Facebook is wrong on the law and wrong on our complaint. We are confident in our case, which is why almost every state in this nation has joined our bipartisan lawsuit to end Facebook’s illegal conduct. We will continue to stand up for the millions of consumers and many small businesses that have been harmed by Facebook’s unlawful behavior.”

Facebook says that its antitrust laws are intended to promote competition and protect the customers, both simultaneously. The company says that the complaints do no credibly show that their conduct harmed either of those.