A pair of lawsuits from the Federal Trade Commission and a wide coalition of states both face an uphill battle in providing the burden of proof that Facebook acted anti-competitively, legal experts have declared.
Washington takes Facebook to court
The original social network
Facebook could find itself dismantled just like US telecommunications company AT&T was in the early 1980s, North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein, one of the attorneys-general involved in the investigation, said in a statement.
Founded in the late 19th century, AT&T (American Telephone & Telegraph Company) flourished during the 20th century into a network of subsidiary communication companies scattered around North America . A telecommunications monopoly known as the Bell System emerged, named after the company s founder, the man credited with inventing the telephone, Alexander Graham Bell.
Antitrust regulators repeatedly went after the company for abusing its monopoly status. Finally, in 1982, facing the prospect of finally losing in court, AT&T agreed to break into seven smaller companies, many of which still operate today.
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The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) along with a coalition of the attorneys general of 48 states and territories on Wednesday filed two antitrust lawsuits against Facebook accusing it of anti-competitive acquisitions.