UPDATE 1-U.S. FTC says court should allow antitrust lawsuit against Facebook to proceed

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission said in a court filing on Wednesday that a federal court should allow an antitrust lawsuit it filed against Facebook to go forward as the company has "interfered with the competitive process by targeting nascent threats through exclusionary conduct." Facebook, now called Meta Platforms, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In August the FTC refreshed its antitrust case against Facebook, adding more detail on the accusation the social media company crushed or bought rivals and asked a judge to force it to sell Instagram and WhatsApp. Read More...

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WASHINGTON, Nov 17 (Reuters) – The U.S. Federal Trade Commission said in a court filing on Wednesday that a federal court should allow an antitrust lawsuit it filed against Facebook to go forward as the company has “interfered with the competitive process by targeting nascent threats through exclusionary conduct.”

Facebook, now called Meta Platforms, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In August the FTC refreshed its antitrust case against Facebook, adding more detail on the accusation the social media company crushed or bought rivals and asked a judge to force it to sell Instagram and WhatsApp.

The lawsuit represents one of the most significant challenges the FTC has brought against a tech company in decades, and is being closely watched as Washington aims to tackle Big Tech’s extensive market power. (Reporting by Diane Bartz and Chris Sanders, Editing by Rosalba O’Brien and Grant McCool)