New York and no fewer than 40 other US states will next week file a big-money antitrust lawsuit against Facebook.
CNBC reported, quoting four sources familiar with the matter, that the states are rounding off investigations of possible antitrust violations against the social media giant, following which the lawsuit will be instituted.
One of the sources said that 40 states besides New York will sign on to the lawsuit but did not name them.
The component of the states’ complaint is not immediately known, and Facebook declined comment, CNBC reported.
Similarly, the Federal Trade Commission is said to be contemplating filing a related complaint with an administrative law judge or in district court. The FTC’s commissioners met on Wednesday to mull the ramifications of the complaint.
The lawsuit would be the second of its nature against a tech giant in 2020, with the US Justice Department filing a similar suit against Alphabet’s Google back in October.
The Wall Street Journal reported Monday that federal and state authorities could file as many as four more antitrust lawsuits against Facebook and Google by the end of January 2021.
“Federal and state officials are probing whether the tech giants abused their power in the internet economy—Google to dominate search and advertising, and Facebook to dominate social media.
“Google and Facebook have denied doing so, saying they operate in highly competitive markets and that their services, which are mostly free, benefit consumers,” WSJ reported.