Facebook invited the authorities to create an alternative for themselves to avoid antitrust lawsuits, but they refused
According to The Washington Post, Facebook has offered to help the US authorities create a new social network to avoid antitrust lawsuits. According to the source, the authorities rejected this offer.
The company was willing to provide its code to a third-party developer or company so that they could quickly develop their alternative to the social network Facebook. With this step, the company tried to show that it does not violate antitrust laws and is not against competition. This information was confirmed by The Washington Post by three sources familiar with the case. It is noted that Facebook appealed to the investigators of the state of Washington and the federal authorities with its proposal, but they did not support the idea. They felt that Facebook’s offer was not enough to address all their concerns about competition.
Recall that the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) together with the attorneys general of 48 states in early December brought to court two antitrust lawsuits against Facebook. The lawsuits claim that the company is buying up all potential competitors, effectively “destroying” them. The authorities cite the purchase of the social networking site Instagram and the messaging service WhatsApp as examples, which have propelled the tech giant into a dominant social media segment.
As part of these lawsuits, the tech giant is accused of anti-competitive behaviour, and the court could eventually order Facebook to sell Instagram and WhatsApp. Facebook denies all accusations in its direction.
