Dismissals of FTC and state AGs suits against Facebook shows the difficulty of making antitrust charges stick and could spur lawmakers to toughen antitrust laws
and how Facebook's big court win could actually help it. https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ... Matt Stoller / @matthewstoller : “This is going to strengthen the case for legislation,” said Herbert Hovenkamp, an antitrust expert at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. “It seems to be proof that the antitrust laws are not up to the challenge.” https://www.nytimes.com/... Rachel Bovard / @rachelbovard : In January, I was reliably informed by the tech press that the tech lash was over. This morning, four senators and a congressman are speaking at @EPPCdc's Big Tech symposium about their proposals to substantively reform Section 230 and update and enforce the antitrust laws. https://twitter.com/... Rep. Ken Buck / @repkenbuck : We need to update our antitrust laws. It's time to hold Big Tech accountable. https://twitter.com/... Justin Hendrix / @justinhendrix : “The courts are going to need, ideally, some congressional guidance here, given that they have some outsized role in determining the outcomes of antitrust cases,” said @sarahmillerdc. “Sometimes losses can be good because it can just reinforce that necessity....” https://twitter.com/... Amy Klobuchar / @amyklobuchar : The FTC should pursue this case, but we shouldn't count on regulators and the courts alone to save us. Keeping our markets competitive, open and fair? It will require the Congress to act. https://twitter.com/... Edward Snowden / @snowden : Very legal, very cool. https://twitter.com/... Will Oremus / @willoremus : Here's one point I haven't seen made elsewhere yet. HouseGOP leadership's alternative plan to get tough on Big Tech was... to expedite court decisions on antitrust reviews. Monday's Facebook ruling should make that a much tougher sell. https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ... https://twitter.com/... Rasmus Kleis Nielsen / @rasmus_kleis : As Judge Throws Out 2 Antitrust Cases Against Facebook in the US, “legislators pointed to the decisions as proof that century-old antitrust laws needed updating for the internet sector.” https://www.nytimes.com/... Rep. Ken Buck / @repkenbuck : The bipartisan bills that passed the House Judiciary Committee address Big Tech's monopoly power. We can fix this problem now. Why would we wait 2 years or 4 years? Helen Nissenbaum / @hnissenbaum : This decision misses the cumulative power of data! The same action OK six years ago, not OK in a today's data environment. Firing a rifle in an empty field is not the same as firing in a crowded room. Judge Throws Out 2 Antitrust Cases Against Facebook https://www.nytimes.com/... Kevin McCarthy / @gopleader : Big Tech behemoths were once the gold standard of entrepreneurism and innovation. They took on incumbents, created new services, and transformed what our economy looks like today. But their idea of competition is now corrupted, and it's past time to rein in Big Tech. David Segal / @davidsegalri : Matt's analysis goes to why the successful push last week to amend one of the antitrust bills in House Judiciary to include a “consumer welfare” defense was devastating. Another later effort failed bc vote was tied. Savvy and formidable push by tech companies and their cut-outs. https://twitter.com/... Shira Ovide / @shiraovide : Now only 32* active antitrust investigations/inquiries/lawsuits/ potential bills against Facebook. *Not a real number https://twitter.com/... Eric Seufert / @eric_seufert : This passage in the ruling on the FTC vs Facebook case is strident. The FTC's suit was filed last year, before Lina Khan joined the agency, but it's unclear how / if the strategy changes (or improves) with her as Chair. https://twitter.com/... Brian Fung / @b_fung : Just in: A federal judge has dismissed the FTC's antitrust complaint against Facebook, saying it was worded too vaguely. The judge is giving the FTC another chance, though, if it files an amended complaint. https://www.pacermonitor.com/ ... https://twitter.com/... Sarah Frier / @sarahfrier : statement from @SenBlumenthal indicates Congress taking the FTC Facebook complaint dismissal as a rallying cry to update antitrust laws https://twitter.com/... @leah_nylen : TL;DR version: The judge finds the FTC didn't offer enough details to show that Facebook has a monopoly for social networking services. Amy Klobuchar / @amyklobuchar : The FTC should do everything it can to pursue its case against Facebook. But the ruling shows why our antitrust laws need to be updated after years of bad precedent. We can't meet the challenges of the modern digital economy with pared down agencies & limited legal tools. @axios : A federal judge tossed out antitrust lawsuits against Facebook — and threw cold water on the heated campaign to brand Big Tech as illegal monopolists. It shows just how tough it will be for regulators to make their charges of tech malfeasance stick. https://www.axios.com/... Sara Fischer / @sarafischer : Smart, smart take from @scottros: — Judge's dismissal of FTC's $FB lawsuit shows how tough it will be for regulators to make their antitrust charges stick. — It could also strengthen the hand of lawmakers who argue we must update outdated antitrust laws. https://www.axios.com/... Matt Stoller / @matthewstoller : The TLDR is the judge was being a jerk and said to the FTC that they can't just use common sense in showing Facebook's monopoly power. https://mattstoller.substack.com/ ... https://twitter.com/... Matt Stoller / @matthewstoller : Facebook hit $1 trillion in market value today, so Wall Street investors in Facebook are mildly happy with the decision. But I wouldn't be so sure it's good for the social networking giant. https://mattstoller.substack.com/ ... Matt Stoller / @matthewstoller : A judge dismissed the government's antitrust case against Facebook. It's a mess of an opinion, and shows why antitrust law needs a rewrite. But the FTC will probably refile soon, so more a speed bump. https://mattstoller.substack.com/ ... Meg Graham / @megancgraham : $FB closed above $1T in market cap for the first time on Monday. Shares closed up 4.18% at $355.64 after a ruling that dismissed an antitrust complaint brought by the U.S. FTC and a coalition of state attorneys general. via @sal19 https://www.cnbc.com/... @voxdotcom : However, the FTC's case against Facebook isn't completely closed. The FTC can pursue other methods for limiting Big Tech's power. And some politicians have viewed today's rulings as a call for Congress to update old antitrust laws so they can apply to modern-day tech companies. Jan Wolfe / @jannwolfe : Nadler and Cicilline on FTC v. Facebook: “The decision underscores the dire need to modernize our antitrust laws...Facebook is a monopolist, and it has abused its monopoly power to buy or bury its competitive threats.” https://twitter.com/... Brendan Bordelon / @brendanbordelon : Even if the FTC refiles, this is going to have a big impact in the congressional debate on antitrust law. Lawmakers on the progressive left and populist right often argue existing law is insufficient to rein in Facebook and other tech giants. This is fuel for that argument. Casey Newton / @caseynewton : The court finds that the FTC failed to prove its case that Facebook had a monopoly on “personal social networking.” Accuses them of extremely sloppy work attempting to define the market (accurately imo) https://storage.courtlistener.com/ ...
AxiosScott Rosenberg
Context & Ripple Effects
The FTC had already built a technology-competition task force with authority to review earlier mergers, while the later FTC and state complaints cast Facebook's conduct in unusually forceful terms. The dismissals test whether that enforcement posture can meet the legal standard required in court.
The ruling is not a final endpoint for the FTC: the judge permitted an amended complaint, and related coverage says the agency has a 30-day window to refile with a stronger showing of monopoly power.
First-order effects
Facebook gains an immediate litigation victory, reinforced by the reported market-capitalization jump after the ruling, while the FTC must revise its case before it can pursue the claim again.
State attorneys general lose their current court route alongside the FTC, making the legal limits highlighted by the initial dismissal analysis central to their next enforcement choices.
Second-order effects
Congressional calls to update antitrust law gain a concrete example: the gap between the agencies' allegations and what the court would accept as a monopoly case.
The FTC's technology-sector merger review effort faces greater pressure to translate retrospective scrutiny into allegations that can survive judicial review.
Third-order effects
If lawmakers respond, Big Tech competition policy may shift from relying chiefly on existing monopoly litigation toward statutory rules designed for platform markets.
A refiled FTC complaint will help determine whether the constraint is deficient pleading in this case or a broader mismatch between current antitrust law and the conduct regulators seek to challenge.
The trend: The Facebook dismissal is part of a broader push to pair more aggressive Big Tech enforcement with legislation aimed at the limits of existing antitrust doctrine.
Today's development in the FTC's case against Facebook shows that antitrust reform is urgently needed. Congress needs to provide additional tools and resources to our antitrust enforcers to go after Big Tech companies engaging in anticompetitive conduct. https://twitter.com/...
BREAKING: Judge dismisses FTC antitrust complaint against Facebook; $FB shares surge 3.4%, surpassing $1 trillion in market value for the first time https://www.cnbc.com/... https://twitter.com/...
For my first @washingtonpost story, I wrote about the long road ahead for the “break up Big Tech” movement — and how Facebook's big court win could actually help it. https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
“This is going to strengthen the case for legislation,” said Herbert Hovenkamp, an antitrust expert at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. “It seems to be proof that the antitrust laws are not up to the challenge.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
In January, I was reliably informed by the tech press that the tech lash was over. This morning, four senators and a congressman are speaking at @EPPCdc's Big Tech symposium about their proposals to substantively reform Section 230 and update and enforce the antitrust laws. https…
“The courts are going to need, ideally, some congressional guidance here, given that they have some outsized role in determining the outcomes of antitrust cases,” said @sarahmillerdc. “Sometimes losses can be good because it can just reinforce that necessity....” https://twitter.…
The FTC should pursue this case, but we shouldn't count on regulators and the courts alone to save us. Keeping our markets competitive, open and fair? It will require the Congress to act. https://twitter.com/...
Here's one point I haven't seen made elsewhere yet. House GOP leadership's alternative plan to get tough on Big Tech was... to expedite court decisions on antitrust reviews. Monday's Facebook ruling should make that a much tougher sell. https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ... https:/…
As Judge Throws Out 2 Antitrust Cases Against Facebook in the US, “legislators pointed to the decisions as proof that century-old antitrust laws needed updating for the internet sector.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
The bipartisan bills that passed the House Judiciary Committee address Big Tech's monopoly power. We can fix this problem now. Why would we wait 2 years or 4 years?
This decision misses the cumulative power of data! The same action OK six years ago, not OK in a today's data environment. Firing a rifle in an empty field is not the same as firing in a crowded room. Judge Throws Out 2 Antitrust Cases Against Facebook https://www.nytimes.com/...
Big Tech behemoths were once the gold standard of entrepreneurism and innovation. They took on incumbents, created new services, and transformed what our economy looks like today. But their idea of competition is now corrupted, and it's past time to rein in Big Tech.
Matt's analysis goes to why the successful push last week to amend one of the antitrust bills in House Judiciary to include a “consumer welfare” defense was devastating. Another later effort failed bc vote was tied. Savvy and formidable push by tech companies and their cut-outs. …
This passage in the ruling on the FTC vs Facebook case is strident. The FTC's suit was filed last year, before Lina Khan joined the agency, but it's unclear how / if the strategy changes (or improves) with her as Chair. https://twitter.com/...
Just in: A federal judge has dismissed the FTC's antitrust complaint against Facebook, saying it was worded too vaguely. The judge is giving the FTC another chance, though, if it files an amended complaint. https://www.pacermonitor.com/ ... https://twitter.com/...
statement from @SenBlumenthal indicates Congress taking the FTC Facebook complaint dismissal as a rallying cry to update antitrust laws https://twitter.com/...
The FTC should do everything it can to pursue its case against Facebook. But the ruling shows why our antitrust laws need to be updated after years of bad precedent. We can't meet the challenges of the modern digital economy with pared down agencies & limited legal tools.
A federal judge tossed out antitrust lawsuits against Facebook — and threw cold water on the heated campaign to brand Big Tech as illegal monopolists. It shows just how tough it will be for regulators to make their charges of tech malfeasance stick. https://www.axios.com/...
Smart, smart take from @scottros: — Judge's dismissal of FTC's $FB lawsuit shows how tough it will be for regulators to make their antitrust charges stick. — It could also strengthen the hand of lawmakers who argue we must update outdated antitrust laws. https://www.axios.com/...
The TLDR is the judge was being a jerk and said to the FTC that they can't just use common sense in showing Facebook's monopoly power. https://mattstoller.substack.com/ ... https://twitter.com/...
Facebook hit $1 trillion in market value today, so Wall Street investors in Facebook are mildly happy with the decision. But I wouldn't be so sure it's good for the social networking giant. https://mattstoller.substack.com/ ...
A judge dismissed the government's antitrust case against Facebook. It's a mess of an opinion, and shows why antitrust law needs a rewrite. But the FTC will probably refile soon, so more a speed bump. https://mattstoller.substack.com/ ...
$FB closed above $1T in market cap for the first time on Monday. Shares closed up 4.18% at $355.64 after a ruling that dismissed an antitrust complaint brought by the U.S. FTC and a coalition of state attorneys general. via @sal19 https://www.cnbc.com/...
However, the FTC's case against Facebook isn't completely closed. The FTC can pursue other methods for limiting Big Tech's power. And some politicians have viewed today's rulings as a call for Congress to update old antitrust laws so they can apply to modern-day tech companies.
Nadler and Cicilline on FTC v. Facebook: “The decision underscores the dire need to modernize our antitrust laws...Facebook is a monopolist, and it has abused its monopoly power to buy or bury its competitive threats.” https://twitter.com/...
Even if the FTC refiles, this is going to have a big impact in the congressional debate on antitrust law. Lawmakers on the progressive left and populist right often argue existing law is insufficient to rein in Facebook and other tech giants. This is fuel for that argument.
The court finds that the FTC failed to prove its case that Facebook had a monopoly on “personal social networking.” Accuses them of extremely sloppy work attempting to define the market (accurately imo) https://storage.courtlistener.com/ ...
An added benefit of hiring every antitrust lawyer possible, there are none left to work for the government's prosecution team. By @ceciliakang & @dmccabe https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
It's boom times for all the law firms hired by the tech giants to defend themselves against the government's anti-trust cases: Google alone has hired 51 lawyers from 21 firms. https://www.nytimes.com/...
People who think anti-trust is the answer to their problems with big tech, are so misguided it's hard to even get started. The Feds being able to create a category so narrow they can call any company a monopoly is horrible. Also remember when it was Walmart Myspace AOL & Yahoo? h…
This piece is about how many opportunities now exist to make lots of money (up to $2K/hr) for legally defending Big Tech. At the end of the story, though, we learn of one antitrust hotshot who walked away from the top firm out of principle. https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twi…
Law students and law schools, take note: “Not since the government sued to break up Microsoft in the late 1990s has there been greater demand for people who know the ins and outs of corporate competition law.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
True too for EU lawyers, tho hardly brand new. Gives flesh to refrain that US antitrust has been asleep for a decade. (And Brussels' Alan Ryan has a cameo.) https://www.nytimes.com/...
This dynamic can play out at law firms as they seek tech business, too. Jonathan Kanter, a rumored candidate to head DOJ antitrust, left Paul, Weiss because of conflicts between his work with tech critics and other work at the firm, sources told us. https://www.nytimes.com/... ht…
The wave of lawsuits, investigations and proposed legislation aimed at ending the dominance of Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google may take years to sort out. But there is already one clear winner: antitrust legal experts. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Big Tech hoovering up top lawyers has been a problem on the policy side too. There's few left to write laws targeting Big Tech because so many already work for Facebook's, Google's etc. policy teams. https://twitter.com/...
More work for lawyers! At up to $2,000 (!!!) an hour. “In total, 51 lawyers from 21 law firms have appeared in court in the Google cases...” By @ceciliakang & @dmccabe https://www.nytimes.com/...