Massachusetts and Connecticut are among 48 states suing Facebook over what it calls the social media giant's efforts to stifle competition to protect its monopoly power. Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey says Facebook has used its power to unlawfully buy and squash its competition. The lawsuit seeks to restructure the company and force it to divest of unlawfully acquired competitors, such as Instagram and WhatsApp.
“For nearly a decade, Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg ran an illegal monopoly in the social media sphere by buying out companies that showed promise as potential competitors and blocking others – and they did this at the expense of their users’ time and privacy,” AG Healey said. “We are suing to stand up for the millions of consumers and small businesses that have been harmed by Facebook’s illegal business practices."
There has been no comment yet from Facebook.
(Photo Credit: Massachusetts Attorney General's Office)