The U.S. Federal Trade Commission refreshed its antitrust case against Facebook Inc on Thursday, adding more detail on the accusation the social media company crushed or bought rivals and once again asking a judge to force the social media giant to sell Instagram and WhatsApp.
At 80 pages, the new complaint is significantly longer than the original one and includes additional data intended to support the FTC's contention that Facebook is a monopolist. An expanded portion of the complaint argues that Facebook dominates the U.S. personal social networking market with more than 65% of monthly active users since 2012.
The FTC voted 3-2 along party lines to file the amended lawsuit and denied Facebook's request that agency head Lina Khan be recused. Khan participated in filing the new complaint.
The agency also repeated its request that a court order Facebook to sell Instagram, which it bought in 2012 for US$1 billion, and WhatsApp, which it bought in 2014 for $19 billion.
The FTC accused Facebook of an "illegal buy or bury scheme to crush competition" in the headline of on its complaint.
Facebook said it would continue to fight the lawsuit.
"It is unfortunate that despite the court's dismissal of the complaint and conclusion that it lacked the basis for a claim, the FTC has chosen to continue this meritless lawsuit," a company spokesman said. "Our acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp were reviewed and cleared many years ago, and our platform policies were lawful."
The FTC's high-profile case against Facebook represents one of the most significant challenges the agency has brought against a tech company in decades, and is being closely watched as Washington aims to tackle Big Tech's extensive market power.
"Despite causing significant customer dissatisfaction, Facebook has enjoyed enormous profits for an extended period of time suggesting both that it has monopoly power and that its personal social networking rivals are not able to overcome entry barriers and challenge its dominance," the amended complaint said.
In an effort to show Facebook's dominance in personal social networking, the FTC's complaint differentiated it from short video app TikTok and sites like Twitter, Reddit and Pinterest, which it said are not focused on connecting friends and family.
The amended complaint comes after Judge James Boasberg of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia said in June that the FTC's original complaint filed in December failed to provide evidence that Facebook had monopoly power in the social-networking market.
Beginning in 2007, Facebook invited apps to its platform to make it more attractive but realized that some could develop into competitors, and slammed the door in 2013 to any app that could become a rival but reversed itself in 2018 under pressure in Europe, the complaint said.
"Having suspended its anticompetitive platform policies in response to anticipated public scrutiny, Facebook is likely to reinstitute such policies if such scrutiny passes," the complaint said.
Facebook shares were up 0.2% at $356.09 in afternoon trading.
John Newman, who teaches at the University of Miami School of Law, said the complaint clearly responds to Judge Boasberg's concerns about the first version. "There aren't huge new bombshells in here."
A second antitrust expert said he believed the court would have a hard time ordering the sale of Instagram or WhatsApp because they were purchased years ago.
"It is a better complaint because it states with much more specificity that Facebook has dominance in social networking," added Seth Bloom of Bloom Strategic Counsel.
U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar, the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee's antitrust panel, said she was pleased to see the FTC hold Facebook accountable for a "long history of anticompetitive behavior."
Alex Harman of consumer rights group Public Citizen said, in a reference to the FTC's new chair, Khan, that the refiling of the case "should be a message to Facebook and other monopolists that there is a new sheriff in town and the party is over."
About 10 senior Hezbollah commanders were killed along with Ibrahim Aqil, leader of the movement's Radwan special forces unit who was attacked in an Israeli air strike in Beirut on Friday, Israel's military spokesperson said.
Since she was a young girl growing up in Vancouver, Ginny Lam says her mom Yat Hei Law made it very clear she favoured her son William, because he was her male heir.
Transport Canada has issued a recall for 38,000 General Motors (GM) vehicles for safety risks related to a software glitch, the agency reported in a notice on Wednesday.
An Ontario man says he’s still waiting for a vehicle he purchased on Kijiji to be delivered to his home. But after more than a month, he says he’s losing hope that the car will arrive and believes that he is a victim of a scam.
The province's public security minister said he was "shocked" Thursday amid reports that a body believed to be that of a 14-year-old boy was found this week near a Hells Angels hideout near Quebec City.
An Ontario man says it is 'unfair' to pay a $1,500 insurance surcharge because his four-year-old SUV is at a higher risk of being stolen.
Israel’s military has struck the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon’s capital, in a dramatic escalation in a year-long period of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.
Emergency crews in northern Ontario found the bodies of four people inside a home where a fire broke out Thursday night.
Following the MIND diet for 10 years produced a small but significant decrease in the risk of developing thinking, concentration and memory problems, a new study found.
For the last seven-and-half months, Toronto resident Heather McArthur has been living out what she describes as her 'worst nightmare.' On Feb. 7, her then three-year-old son Jacob along with his father Loc Phu 'Jay' Le departed for what was supposed to be a week-long visit to Vietnam to celebrate the Lunar New Year with family, McArthur says.
Emergency crews in northern Ontario found the bodies of four people inside a home where a fire broke out Thursday night.
Since she was a young girl growing up in Vancouver, Ginny Lam says her mom Yat Hei Law made it very clear she favoured her son William, because he was her male heir.
Transport Canada has issued a recall for 38,000 General Motors (GM) vehicles for safety risks related to a software glitch, the agency reported in a notice on Wednesday.
A field trip aimed at educating Toronto students about the plight of a northern Ontario First Nation ended with them taking part in a protest where pro-Palestinian slogans were shouted.
The Montreal couple from Mexico and their three children facing deportation have received a temporary residence permit.
Lawyers in Britain representing dozens of alleged victims -- including three Canadians -- of Mohamed Al Fayed, the former boss of Harrods, said Friday their clients assert that he was a "monster" who raped and sexually abused young women.
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador blamed the United States in part on Thursday for the surge in cartel violence terrorizing the northern state of Sinaloa which has left at least 30 people dead in the past week.
Communication breakdowns with local law enforcement hampered the Secret Service's performance ahead of a July assassination attempt on former U.S. president Donald Trump, according to a new report that lays out a litany of missed opportunities to stop a gunman who opened fire from an unsecured roof.
Israel’s military has struck the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon’s capital, in a dramatic escalation in a year-long period of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.
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The families of the six workers who died in the March collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore filed lawsuits on Friday against the owner and operator of the cargo ship that struck the bridge.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tapped Treasury Board President Anita Anand to take on additional duties as Canada's minister of transport on Thursday.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh got into a heated exchange in the House of Commons on Thursday, just minutes after Singh announced his party would not be supporting the Conservatives' first non-confidence motion against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government.
Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly is convening female foreign ministers from a dozen countries to talk about women's participation in governance and issues like online harassment.
The Nunavut government says it will provide immunization against respiratory syncytial virus to all infants in the territory this fall, a policy change that one pediatric infectious diseases specialist has been advocating for decades.
Ontario’s Minister of Sport, Neil Lumsden, will donate his brain to research.
Software company Mustimuhw Information, which develops medical records systems built on a foundation of Indigenous traditions and values, is allowing health providers to capture data informed by cultural practices.
Lebanese authorities on Thursday banned walkie-talkies and pagers from being taken on flights from Beirut airport, the National News Agency reported, after thousands of such devices exploded during a deadly attack on Hezbollah this week.
If something looks too good to be true, it might be. That's the message from Saskatchewan horticulturists after customers have come into their stores hoping to buy purple apple trees this month.
Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has accused Tesla CEO Elon Musk of 'remotely disabling' his Cybertruck, which had been sent to the frontline of Russia's war in Ukraine.
Sean "Diddy" Combs, who was arrested this week on charges of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking, pleaded not guilty Tuesday and was ordered to remain in custody until his federal trial in New York. CNN spoke to several legal experts to try to understand what lies ahead for Combs and for those in his orbit.
Viewers of Jeopardy got a chance to test their knowledge of trivia about B.C.'s biggest city Wednesday night.
Lawyers representing the producers of 'Russians at War' say they may pursue legal action against Ontario's public broadcaster for pulling support for the controversial documentary amid outcry from the Ukrainian community and some Canadian politicians.
Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem says there is a lot of uncertainty around how artificial intelligence could affect the economy moving forward, including the labour market and price growth.
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Self-service kiosks at McDonald's and other fast-food chains have loomed as job killers since they were first rolled out 25 years ago. But nobody predicted what actually happened.
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The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.
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Edmontonians can count themselves lucky to ever see one tiger salamander, let alone the thousands one local woman says recently descended on her childhood home.
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Members of the only organized support group for the Vancouver Canucks are feeling slighted after losing their usual space at Rogers Arena.
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A field trip aimed at educating Toronto students about the plight of a northern Ontario First Nation ended with them taking part in a protest where pro-Palestinian slogans were shouted.
Defence counsel for accused murderer John-Christopher Arrizza argues he was in an “altered state of mind†due to days of drug and alcohol use, sleep deprivation and not eating, when he fatally stabbed a man at a Banff nightclub in 2022.
The Calgary Food Bank’s city-wide food drive reaches its 20-year milestone this Saturday.
Calgary pickleball players will soon have a dozen new courts to play on.
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The Ottawa Police Service Arson Unit is seeking witnesses to a fire that happened early Friday morning in a two-storey commercial building in Little Italy.
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The Montreal couple from Mexico and their three children facing deportation have received a temporary residence permit.
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Edmonton police are warning about traffic disruptions on Friday near the headquarters of the Alberta Teachers' Association, where a protest against the inclusion of sexual orientation and gender identity in school curricula will be taking place.
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A mother and daughter say they woke up to flames encroaching on their third-floor apartment near Commonwealth Stadium early Friday morning.
A Nova Scotia woman has applied for a medically assisted death, saying after years of battling to receive out-of-country surgery for an illness that causes 'indescribable' pain, she struggles to maintain the will to live.
The families of some students who will be using Nova Scotia’s school lunch program can now order their meals online.
Gas prices increased in all three Maritime provinces for the first time in more than a month.
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A Winnipeg pet rescue is putting out a warning to dog owners across the city about a possible parvovirus in the province.
Driving into the tunnels of Nutrien's Rocanville mine, the largest potash mine in the world by production volume, feels like driving down a lonely highway in the middle of the night.
A tornado in Langbank, Sask. on Wednesday was the third latest in the province on record, according to Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC).
The second-degree murder trial of Thomas Hamp is being adjourned until December so an expert witness central to the trial can testify.
Levels of hydrogen sulfide gas are being monitored after a leak in Brantford Collegiate Institute’s geothermal system.
Guelph resident, Susan Bard, is being remembered as a vibrant community advocate and volunteer who died doing what she loved – cycling.
Amber and Adam Brueckner have a pool-shaped hole in their backyard – and their wallets.
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A 69-year-old woman from Outlook, Saskatchewan is dead and three people are injured after a truck and SUV collided on Highway 15 on Thursday.
A gym teacher at a private Christian school in Saskatoon has been charged. Terra MacEwan, 44, is charged with assault with a weapon. A Saskatoon mother who spoke with CTV News says her autistic son was MacEwan's victim.
Emergency crews in northern Ontario found the bodies of four people inside a home where a fire broke out Thursday night.
Two people emerged unhurt after a float plane had a hard landing late Friday morning on Lake Temiskaming.
Since she was a young girl growing up in Vancouver, Ginny Lam says her mom Yat Hei Law made it very clear she favoured her son William, because he was her male heir.
The Elgin Community Health Hub, operated by the Thames Valley Family Health Team, is accepting new patients to a model where doctors are rarely seen.
Members of the 2SLGBTQ+ community and supportetrs greatly outnumbered the people attending a '1 Million March 4 Children' event along Central Avenue.
Today, the 71 year old is marking 50 years a paramedic. He said he never aspired to move into management or a desk job, he enjoys being on the road, helping patients too much.
Two men from Barrie have been charged after a deadly shooting at a park in Keswick on Wednesday.
Police are investigating after they say several firearms and other valuables were stolen from a home in Tiny Township.
The Barrie Transit Field Trip Pass Program offers free elementary and high school transportation for students and teachers, removing the hassle of booking charter buses and managing the costs.
Windsor police say a 25-year-old mother has been charged with the drowning death of her 5-year-old child in the family’s backyard pool.
On Thursday, just after 9:30 a.m., a man was found and taken to police headquarters, where he was released with conditions and a future court date.
The Municipality of Lakeshore is honouring long-serving members of the Lakeshore Fire Department.
In a rare move, the Greater Victoria School District Board of Education has been slapped with a ministerial order from the province requiring it to update a student safety plan – drawing concern around political posturing leading up to an election.
Getting a bed at one of British Columbia's drug detoxification facilities is like winning the lottery, the vice-president on the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council says.
The Union of B.C. Municipalities is asking the provincial government to make transit free for teenagers.
A pair of runaway pigs are in the custody of an animal sanctuary in the Okanagan after evading police and volunteers for hours earlier this week.
The Red Bridge, a historic landmark in Kamloops, B.C., was completely destroyed by fire early Thursday morning.
Animal protection officers in British Columbia have rescued three pit bulls – including one that gave birth to 10 puppies – from a rat-infested home in Kelowna.
A Vulcan, Alta., man has been charged with a Lethbridge woman's murder after her body was found in the Oyen area.
A Lethbridge couple got a good reminder as to why you should keep your vehicle doors locked at all times.
Lethbridge residents who live near the police range can expect to hear plenty of shots fired Wednesday and Thursday.
A new community health profile in the Algoma District shows the area is significantly below provincial averages in a number of health metrics.
North Bay Police Service says one person has died following an industrial accident at the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission Rail Yard on Tuesday.
Three northern Ontario residents are charged with drug trafficking after the vehicle they were in got stuck along a bush road off Highway 17 on Monday.
Newfoundland and Labrador's chief medical officer is monitoring the rise of whooping cough infections across the province as cases of the highly contagious disease continue to grow across Canada.
A 16-year-old biennial event aimed at fostering business in the country's eastern Arctic and northern regions has been cancelled indefinitely as a dispute unfolds between Inuit in Canada and a Labrador group claiming to share their heritage.
Jim Lester’s farm hopped on the cow-cuddling trend in early August, and his time slots have been pretty well sold out ever since.
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