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December 11, 2020 Facebook stock holds its own in Wall Strett, despite the lawsuit filed against the company by 48 states in the US and the Federal Trade Commission (Ftc) for antitrust practices.



The Menlo Park group, in the aftermath of the FTC announcement, took a counterattack and accused the US antitrust of being "revisionist".

The US Federal Trade Commission had launched two antitrust lawsuits against Zuckerberg's company on December 9, accusing it of anti-competitive practices.  



Outside small and large

The FTC argues that Facebook is engaged in a "systematic strategy" to eliminate competition, buying both smaller emerging rivals and giants Instagram (in 2012) and WhatsApp (in 2014).

Facebook rejects the allegations, noting that the antitrust authority authorized both acquisitions at the time.



In defending his creature, Zuckerberg insists that the various services offer significant benefits to users and that the allegations of the group's accumulated power are misleading.



What happens now

Facebook will have to sell WhatsApp and Instagram?

According to expert analysis, this is the intent of the United States government.

But whatever happens, a very long legal battle is to be expected, which Facebook is preparing to fight with the force of large numbers as well as enormous economic resources.



It is a battle that, in the United States, involves legislators across the board.

They demand greater control over Facebook and the other giants of the tech industry, companies whose market power is now out of control, crushing smaller competitors and endangering consumers' privacy and freedom of choice.



A battle that, even in the European Union, Facebook and the other Big Techs will have to fight.



Extremely long time

The initiation of the lawsuit brought by the Federal Trade Commission and 48 states could still take years before reaching a conclusion.



George Hay, an antitrust expert and professor at Cornell University, said Facebook has been "well aware" of the antitrust challenge for some time and has "the resources to make it a terrible challenge for prosecutors."

Hay also added sarcastically to the AP agency that "the only certain thing is that the demand for antitrust lawyers and economists will grow".