W. Va. Attorney General Joins Multi-State Lawsuit Being Filed Against Facebook
By: KDKA-TV News Staff
CHARLESTON, W. Va. (KDKA) -- West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey joined 48 other attorneys general in filing a lawsuit against Facebook.
The lawsuit claims that Facebook acquired competition through illegal and predatory manners and claims multiple violations of federal antitrust laws
"America thrives best with robust competition," Attorney General Morrisey said in a press release. "We must not condone actions that block meaningful access to competition and exploit a user's private information. Such behavior reduces consumer choice, stifles innovation and degrades privacy protections for millions."
The suit references the past acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp of how the company would strategically eliminate competition by purchasing other companies with prices significantly higher than market values.
Attorneys general from nearly every state, the District of Columbia, and the territory of Guam have joined the suit.
The full list of states and territories are: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming and the territory of Guam.
The lawsuit aims to keep Facebook from being able to make any future acquisitions valued at $10 million or more without advance notice to the states filing the suit.
It also is seeking a court order for Facebook to divest companies it illegally acquired.