More than 40 state attorneys general said Wednesday they planned to appeal the dismissal of their antitrust lawsuit against Facebook, setting up a protracted legal fight to control the power of the Silicon Valley giant.
The states would reject a decision made last month by a federal judge that gutted their arguments that Facebook had obtained a monopoly through its acquisitions of Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014 and had hurt competition. The judge said that attempts by regulators to split the social media company came many years after the mergers were approved.
“The court is not aware of any case, and the plaintiffs provide none, in which such a long delay in seeking such consequential relief has been approved in a case brought by a plaintiff other than the federal government,” said Judge James E. Boasberg of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia said.
State attorneys general have 90 days from the date of the notice to file their appeal, including their arguments.
