Breaking Facebook being sued for being a monopoly

www.marketwatch.com...

Facebook hit with antitrust suits that seek to ‘unwind’ Instagram, WhatsApp acquisitions

A consortium of 48 attorneys general and the U.S. government filed antitrust lawsuits against Facebook Inc. on Wednesday, claiming it committed unlawful, anticompetitive acts that put rivals out of business and cemented its status as the pre-eminent social-networking giant.

Who didn't see this coming.
Are Facebook and other platforms going to be labeled something else soon, maybe even
some kind of a utility? Seems like we are going down that path quickly.

I think between Covid and the elections it just sped up what was already inevitable.

To get a little nostalgic... The year was 2004, or maybe it was 2005. A fresh faced intern told me about this cool new thing that
everyone was on called Facebook. I thought it sounded dumb. That was only 15 years ago, to see what it is now was unimaginable then...

a reply to: JAGStorm

So presumably the CIA has a better project that they want to roll out?

Wake me when it’s Google

I hated Facebook right off the bat. I only have an account for my side hustle. Otherwise I detest everything about the platform and always have. Same with Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and of course any garbage Google or Apple have going on.

I despise Microsoft as well.

All of these companies could have done so much good for humanity and instead are little more than fascist corporations that want to dictate how everyone should think and what everyone should be allowed to say.

I have no money invested in any of them, nor will I ever.

originally posted by: slatesteam
Wake me when it’s Google

Wakey wakey hands off snakey...

nypost.com...

Less than a month after being sued by the Department of Justice over maintaining “unlawful monopolies” in its search and advertising businesses, Google is staring down the barrel of a second antitrust lawsuit.

A bipartisan group of US states is gearing up to file suit against the search giant as soon as next month, Reuters reported on Tuesday. The coalition of states — comprised of Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, Tennessee and Utah — is conducting a broad inquiry into Google’s practices.

a reply to: JAGStorm

Our aim is to roll back Facebook’s anticompetitive conduct and restore competition so that innovation and free competition can thrive.”

All this really equates to for me is a whole host of new platforms that will fracture and segregate the current community in the social bubble.

IE - Some of your friends will head here, some of your friends will head there, we will be met with a whole new set of compatibility issues and formatting bottlenecks... Instagram being acquired by Facebook was a good thing for end users because of the integration and ease.

I dunno... I struggle to care about social media monopolies. It's just not a very important sector of my life, and it's usually just a time suck for people and a marketing tool for corporations.

a reply to: JAGStorm

Fukbook

a reply to: putnam6
Kewl.

Inquiry does not = Being Sued

Did DOJ win their suit? Sorry if I didn’t read the link

originally posted by: slatesteam
a reply to: putnam6
Kewl.

Inquiry does not = Being Sued

Did DOJ win their suit? Sorry if I didn’t read the link

Who knows these things can take forever, lawyers making bank, and Google if it gets anything will be a slap on the wrist. But we can dream, can't we?

Facebook should have stayed in the entertainment bracket. Censoring news makes the fall under a different category.

a reply to: JAGStorm

So what will happen with it? Break facebook up into several mini facebooks like Standard Oil?

How can FB be a monoploy when you can choose to use instagram, twitter, wattpad, fetlife, Tagged, Xing, Habbo, WhatsApp, Messenger, Qzone, ...that's all I can remember there are many more.

Reddit, Tik Tok, QQ , Baidu Tieba, Linkedin, Viber, Snapchat, Line, telegram, Medium etc....

No one is forced to sign up or use; log on peruse, lurk, rubberneck or watch FB there are many alternatives.

a reply to: olaru12

They own 2 of the ones you mention. and strangle the rest in market share.

I don't really support this though. They need regulation, not breaking up. Google on the other hand......

I despise Facebook. I only recently, as in like last month, created a Facebook account due to needing it for a business that was started.

It is useful though for keeping up with friends and family. I just don't care about anyone, so not really useful for a hermit like me.

I don't think they are a true monopoly though. Some other company will come along and figure out how to do it better.

originally posted by: bigfatfurrytexan
a reply to: olaru12



I don't really support this though. They need regulation, not breaking up. Google on the other hand......

Slippery slope...

As a one time business owner I resent government intrusion as long as I'm legal, obey the neighborhood codes and pay my taxes.

Why don't they go after Walmart, that put countless mom and pops out of business, and destroyed the downtown of many small Texas towns, if they want to go after a monopoly.

I remember the oldie from MySpace to my place memes way back when. I’ve always been distrusting of this sort of sorcery. To hell with Facebook the way they are and the rest of the wanna he’s too.

Facebook is a phenomenon.

Once I searched for a person with a very uncommon name on FB and got thousands of people across the planet. It was shocking. Wasnt a John Smith or Tom Jones-type name but an odd name one would think not too many others.

They may be too powerful



This Fox report says 48 state AGs have joined this lawsuit!

a reply to: strongfp

They'll make them sell whats app and Instagram at least

So.....you guys are now Against a free-market economy?

Nobody forces you to use Facebook
Using Facebook costs you NOTHING
There are alternative platforms out there similar to Facebook but since Facebook is kicking their asses to the curb, they're now considered a monopoly?

JFC

Maybe they should be called "Triggerbook"


(bonus points if you see the pattern in my posts)

a reply to: olaru12

Censorship and the relationship between platforms and publishers. They either abide by t&c or they can be sued for publishing slander. They cant straddle the fence.