WASHINGTON – A federal judge on Monday dismissed antitrust lawsuits that the federal government and most states filed against Facebook Inc., a major victory for the company before the cases barely got off the ground.
US District Judge James Boasberg in Washington accepted requests from the social media giant to dismiss lawsuits filed by the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general in December.
Judge Boasberg said the FTC’s lawsuit was “legally insufficient” because it did not allege enough allegations to support the monopolization claims against Facebook. However, the judge said the commission can try again and gave it 30 days to try to file an amended lawsuit.
The judge dismissed the states’ case in its entirety, largely on the grounds that attorneys general waited too long to present their claims.
Representatives for Facebook, the FTC and the states did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Source: WSJ
