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| The Facebook investigation is entering its final phase |
After the Federal Trade Commission and a team of dozens of prosecutors on both sides enter the final stages of these demands, Facebook is preparing to file one or more antitrust lawsuits against them in early December.
FTC officials have suggested that the social media company be sued in federal court and allow state groups run by New York to participate in the lawsuit.
The lawsuit can be signed by 41 states and the trial or process can begin next year.
After information about the investigation on Facebook, New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement: We will continue to use all available investigative tools to determine whether Facebook's actions are stifling competition. This reduces options or endangers user data.
The Federal Trade Commission and the states have yet to decide how to file a complaint so that the Federal Trade Commission can file individual complaints in local courts while states file class complaints.
The Federal Trade Commission can sue administrative judges, and states can file a case in county courts, or work with Facebook to sue local courts.
In addition to New York, Colorado, Nebraska, Tennessee and Utah are the other major states studied.
The lawsuits are expected to focus on Facebook's alleged antitrust violations, thus protecting its huge market share on social media.
The Federal Trade Commission and the states also agreed to similar allegations, including weakening competitors by acquiring the Facebook Instagram photo-sharing platform for $ 1 billion in 2012.
The allegations also include weakening the privacy of the encrypted messaging app WhatsApp after it was acquired for $ 22 billion in 2014, and the selective removal of competitors by refusing to share user data.
Novice investors, antitrust experts, and data protection activists criticized the FTC for approving the WhatsApp and Instagram acquisition.
A full report from the House Judiciary Committee earlier this year found that Facebook is using access to market data to identify imminent competitive threats to copy, buy, or block these companies by restricting access to Facebook data.