Lawmakers Trust FTC With Reported Handling of Facebook Consolidation
If the FTC seeks to block Facebook from integrating its messaging platforms, it’s likely a justified decision backed by antitrust standards, various lawmakers told us in recent interviews. The New York Times quoting unnamed sources reports that the agency is considering seeking a preliminary injunction to block Facebook from integrating messaging services across Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp. Neither the FTC nor the company commented.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Timely, relevant coverage of court proceedings and agency rulings involving tariffs, classification, valuation, origin and antidumping and countervailing duties. Each day, Trade Law Daily subscribers receive a daily headline email, in-depth PDF edition and access to all relevant documents via our trade law source document library and website.
Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Josh Hawley, R-Mo., are concerned about Facebook consolidation. “I’ve been in favor of antitrust action to stop Facebook from, in effect, scrambling the eggs so that they can’t be separated,” said Blumenthal. The reports are “probably a good development,” Hawley said, noting his “great skepticism about them integrating their messaging services and their cross platforms.”
Antitrust issues are “pretty formulaic,” and agencies are held to clear-cut standards, said Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C. There are “very specific ways to go about measuring whether or not it’s anticompetition, and I would assume the FTC should be held to that same standard.” The agency must identify wrongdoing to determine anticompetition, he said.
Given the agency’s lack of resources, it must be very selective when pursuing cases, said Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Ga. So if the agency moves forward with a preliminary injunction, it must mean there’s a hint or suspicion of wrongdoing, he said. “There’s been a lot of consolidation by the big four, Facebook among them, which has swallowed up competitors as they were nascent,” Johnson said. “And in that way, they’ve been able to avoid competition.” A lack of competition is bad for consumers, he said. “We need a strong FTC to take a look at the various anticompetitive practices, which have actually led to the big four getting bigger and bigger and more monopolistic.”
DOJ Antitrust Chief Makan Delrahim recently told reporters he wouldn’t comment on “accurate or inaccurate” reporting about another agency’s antitrust pursuits (see 1912160044). About a year ago, he said internal consolidation doesn’t trigger antitrust concerns unless anticompetitive behavior is associated with the integration (see 1901290044).
Once a deal or consolidation is done, it’s “a lot easier to let the cat out of the bag than put it back in,” said Sen. John Kennedy, R-La. He agreed it makes sense for the FTC to block Facebook integration until antitrust impacts are settled: "It's about time that the federal government got off its ice-cold, lazy butt and looked at the antitrust issues in social media."
Congress needs to continue working with Facebook, said Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn. “We don’t want to micromanage, but at the same time, we have to be concerned about privacy, consumer privacy and how we’re going to protect,” she said, urging support for her Balancing the Rights of Web Surfers Equally and Responsibly (Browser) Act (S-1116) (see 1912040045). Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., has also raised privacy concerns about Facebook’s planned integration (see 1901250046).