TechDigits

Tech news
Friday, Mar 29, 2024

Facebook's Sandberg jabs government over antitrust lawsuits

Facebook's Sandberg jabs government over antitrust lawsuits

Officials have accused Facebook of using its wealth to squelch competition by buying rival social media platforms.

Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg pushed back on claims that the social media giant has engaged in anti-competitive business practices in an interview that aired Thursday, hours after federal and state officials announced plans to take antitrust action against the company.

Officials have accused Facebook of using its wealth to squelch competition by buying rival social media platforms before they can become direct competitors. During an appearance on “The Tamron Hall Show,” Sandberg, Facebook’s second-most senior executive, pointed to the existence of popular services such as TikTok, Snapchat and Apple’s iMessage as proof that competition is strong.

“If you want to get electricity today for your home, you’ve got one choice, but you’ve got lots of choice for your time and attention,” Sandberg said. “I think it’s hard to argue that there’s not competition. I also think it’s worth remembering that when we bought Instagram and WhatsApp, they were really small, little companies.”


In a sweeping antitrust lawsuit, a bipartisan coalition of 48 state attorneys general identified Facebook’s purchases of Instagram for $1 billion and WhatsApp for $19 billion as anticompetitive actions. New York Attorney General Letitia James said Facebook acquired Instagram “when the company did not even have a cent in revenue” and argued it paid far more for WhatsApp than what industry analysts deemed to be market value for the messaging app.

The Federal Trade Commission filed suit in a bid to unwind Facebook’s acquisitions of WhatsApp and Instagram. The state attorneys general have pledged to coordinate antitrust action with the FTC.

Sandberg noted that federal regulators had previously approved both transactions.

“We’ve faced real competition and those acquisitions were cleared,” Sandberg said. “If you can buy a company and eight years, 10 years later, the government can clear it then and unwind it, that’s going to be a really big chilling problem for American business. We are not going to be competitive around the world."

Newsletter

Related Articles

TechDigits
0:00
0:00
Close
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
The future of sports
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Poor Man With Money, Mark Zuckerberg, Unveils Twitter Replica with Heavy-Handed Censorship: A New Low in Innovation?
The Double-Edged Sword of AI: AI is linked to layoffs in industry that created it
US Sanctions on China's Chip Industry Backfire, Prompting Self-Inflicted Blowback
Meta Copy Twitter with New App, Threads
BlackRock Bitcoin ETF Application Refiled, Naming Coinbase as ‘Surveillance-Sharing’ Partner
UK Crypto and Stablecoin Regulations Become Law as Royal Assent is Granted
A Delaware city wants to let businesses vote in its elections
Alef Aeronautics Achieves Historic Milestone with Flight Certification for World's First Flying Car
Google Blocked Access to Canadian News in Response to New Legislation
French Politicians Advocate for Pan-European Regulation on Social Media Influencers
Melinda French Gates Advocates for Increased Female Representation in AI to Prevent Bias
Snapchat+ gains 4 million paying subscribers in its first year
Apple Makes History as the First Public Company Valued at $3 Trillion
Elon Musk Implements Twitter Limits to Tackle Data Scraping, but Faces Criticism for Technical Misunderstanding
EU and UK's Slow Electric Vehicle Adoption Raises Questions About the Transition to Green Mobility
Top Companies Express Concerns Over Europe's Proposed AI Law, Citing Competitiveness and Investment Risks
Meta Unveils Insights on AI Usage in Facebook and Instagram, Amid Growing Calls for Transparency
Crypto Scams Against Seniors Soar by 78% in 2022, Experts Urge Vigilance
The End of an Era: National Geographic Dismisses Last of Its Staff Writers
Shield Your Wallet: The Perils of Wireless Credit Card Theft
Harvard Scientist Who Studies Honesty Accused Of Data Fraud, Put On Leave
Putting an End to the Subscription Snare: The Battle Against Unwitting Commitments
The Legal Perils of AI: Lawyer Faces Sanctions for Relying on Fictional Cases Generated by Chatbot
ChatGPT’s "Grandma Exploit": Ingenious Hack Exposes Loophole in AI, Generates Free Software Codes
The Disney Downturn: A Near Billion-Dollar Box Office Blow for the House of Mouse
A Digital Showdown: Canada Challenges Tech Giants with The Online News Act, Meta Strikes Back
Distress in the Depths: Submersible and Passengers Missing in Titanic Wreckage Expedition
Mark Zuckerberg stealing another idea: Twitter
European Union's AI Regulations Risk Self-Sabotage, Cautions smart and brave Venture Capitalist Joe Lonsdale
Nvidia GPUs are so hard to get that rich venture capitalists are buying them for the startups they invest in
Chinese car exports surge
Reddit Blackout: Thousands of Communities Protest "Ludicrous" Pricing Changes
Nvidia Joins Tech Giants as First Chipmaker to Reach $1 Trillion Valuation
AI ‘extinction’ should be same priority as nuclear war – experts
×