California, other states appeal dismissal of Facebook antitrust case

California Attorney General Rob Bonta joined most of his counterparts across the nation Friday in appealing an antitrust ruling in favor of Facebook Inc.

In June, U.S. District Court Judge James E. Boasberg in Washington, D.C. dismissed the case. He ruled the plaintiffs had waited too long to challenge acquisitions by the company and that it was not violating antitrust laws.

"The district court's determination that laches bars the states' acquisition-based claims is erroneous for multiple independent reasons," argued the appeal signed by New York Assistant Solicitor General Philip J. Levitz. "Laches does not apply against sovereign states suing to protect the public interest, like the states here. And even if laches could apply against the states, the district court misapplied the doctrine by failing to afford adequate deference to the states' critical role in protecting the public interest through antitrust enforcement actions like this one."

A news release from Bonta's office noted the Menlo Park company "recently rebranded" as Meta Platforms Inc., although the original name remains on the litigation. New York v. Facebook, Inc., 21-7078 (D.C. Cir., filed Jan. 14, 2022).

"Facebook is a monopolist," Bonta said in the news release. "The company has made no secret of its efforts to purchase growing startups in order to squash competition, suppress innovation, and protect its monopoly power."

The 99-page appeal also argues the company's acquisitions of Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014 are part of an ongoing pattern of behavior with "cumulative anticompetitive effects."

On Tuesday, Boasberg ruled in a separate case that the Federal Trade Commission could move forward with an amended complaint against the company after it offered "more robust and detailed" evidence of monopolistic behavior. The company has tried a number of arguments to derail that case, including claiming Commission Chair Lina M. Khan must recuse herself from any vote on the company due to past critical statements. Federal Trade Commission v. Facebook, Inc., 1:20-cv-03590-JEB (D.C., filed Dec. 9, 2020).

The company is also facing a $3 billion class action in the United Kingdom accusing it of breaking that country's competition laws.