Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge recently joined a bipartisan coalition of 48 attorneys general, in an effort to end what they say is Facebook’s illegal efforts to stifle competition and protect its monopoly power. See coalition document below:
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The coalition filed an appeal brief arguing that the district court’s ruling dismissing the case of the participating states was in error. (See list of states below.) The coalition argues that the court was wrong to dismiss its case as time-barred, and made additional legal and factual errors.
In a statement from Rutledge’s office, she says that over the last decade, Facebook, now known as Meta, illegally acquired competitors in a predatory manner and cut or conditioned services to smaller threats – depriving users of the benefits of competition and reducing privacy protections and services along the way – all in an effort to boost its bottom line through increased advertising revenue.
“Facebook has been a popular way to connect many Arkansans with family and friends, but no matter how well-liked this social media giant has become, it cannot be allowed to keep its competitors from entering the marketplace,” said Attorney General Leslie Rutledge.
“I am continuing in the fight to stop Facebook’s illegal attempts to monopolize social media that suppresses the choices that consumers should have to share information online.”
In December 2020, the coalition filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to stop what they say is anticompetitive conduct by Facebook/Meta . The company filed a motion to dismiss, which was granted by the court last summer. The recent appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit asks the court to allow the coalition of attorneys general to move forward with its suit.
Separately, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) also filed an amended complaint against Facebook in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. In a ruling last week, the court denied Facebook’s motion to dismiss the FTC’s complaint, allowing the FTC to proceed.
The appeal is being led by an executive committee comprised of the attorneys general of New York, California, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, and the District of Columbia. The executive committee is joined by the attorneys general of Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming, and the territory of Guam.