United States of America: FTC and 46 States announce Complaint regarding Facebook's alleged Creation and Maintenance of a Monopoly Position

On December 9 2020, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and 46 States announced that they have sued Facebook for the maintenance of a Monopoly through anticompetitive behaviour. The complaint placed at a federal court, states that the acquisition of WhatsApp and Instagram contributed greatly to the creation of the alleged social network monopoly. Furthermore, in the complaint, it was alleged that the monopoly has led to adverse effects on consumers and advertisers. The FTC is requesting a permanent injunction for Facebook from the court including a future reporting and approval requirement for M&A-transactions as well as a reversal of the two critical acquisitions.