A federal judge on Monday dismissed antitrust lawsuits brought against Facebook by a coalition of the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general, dealing a significant blow to regulators' efforts to rein in the tech giant.
US District Judge James Bosberg ruled Monday that the lawsuits were "legally inadequate" and there was not enough evidence to prove Facebook was a monopoly.
The ruling dismisses the complaint but not the case, meaning the FTC could file another complaint.
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"These allegations -- which do not provide an estimated actual figure or range for Facebook's market share at any point in the past ten years -- ultimately fall short of establishing that Facebook holds market power," he said.
The US government and 48 states and districts sued Facebook in December 2020, accusing the tech giant of abusing its market power in social networking to crush smaller competitors and a forced spinoff of the social network's Instagram and WhatsApp messaging services. Accused of looking for inclusion measures.
The FTC alleged that Facebook engaged in "a systematic strategy" to eliminate its competition, including buying smaller up-and-coming rivals such as Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014.
New York Attorney General Letitia James said in the lawsuit that Facebook "used its monopoly power to crush smaller rivals and eliminate competition, all at the expense of everyday users."
Bosberg also dismissed a separate complaint made by the state attorney general.
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