Judge dismisses US govt antitrust lawsuit against Facebook

In a significant blow to attempts to rein in Facebook, a federal judge on Monday dismissed antitrust lawsuits brought against the tech giant by the US government and a coalition of state attorneys general.

The court ruled that the lawsuits were “legally insufficient” and didn't provide enough evidence to prove that Facebook was a monopoly. The ruling dismisses the complaint but not the case, meaning the Federal Trade Commission could refile another complaint.

The US government and 48 states and districts sued Facebook in December 2020. They accused the tech giant of abusing its market power in social networking to crush smaller competitors.