Politico recently reported that the long-awaited antitrust lawsuit from the United States Federal Trade Commission against Facebook could be here before the end of this November. The report, which came out on Friday, cites three people familiar with the matter and says that the FTC is considering handling the case internally.
The internal investigation could make the case easier to win. The case could take years, and if that is the case, there is a likelihood that the attorneys general from several states will be angry about the move, as they have been working to force change at the social media company very quickly.
The administration change will affect some things
The lawsuit will probably bring out the allegations against Facebook’s practice of stifling competition through the acquisition of smaller rivals. There is a likelihood that WhatsApp and Instagram will be mentioned as examples.
The lawsuit is questionable if it does go ahead because of the change in administration. The FTC chair right now is Joe Simons, who is pushing the case forward. However, he is an appointee of the Trump administration. He will likely be replaced by 2021 by the Biden administration.
Will Biden be tough?
One of the unknowns, in this case, is that the Progressive Democrats have been pushing to break up the companies which have gotten too big. However, Biden was supported by the same tech companies targeted by the lawsuit. It is not clear how aggressive he is going to be when dealing with them.
It does not matter what the antitrust lawsuit will be like and whether Biden will back it. Facebook is prepping for the worst. A report came out detailing how Facebook is planning to come up with a solid defense against an attempt to break it up.
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