The injunction would stop Facebook from combining the technology supporting WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook Messenger in the interest of preventing the mammoth social media company from becoming harder to potentially break up if the FTC decides it has stifled competition, theNew York Timesreported Thursday.
If Facebook combines the apps, the platforms more than 2.7 billion users would be able to access the same messages on all three messaging services.
Facebooks purchase of WhatsApp and Instagram raised eyebrows of critics who worry that serial defensive acquisitions by large companies including Google and Amazon pose competition concerns.
The FTC would need a majority of its five members to apply for the injunction and would need to sue for it in federal court.
Lawmakers have also expressed concerns this year that the enormous tech companies are engaging in anti-competitive conduct and called for their breakup.
The open internet has delivered enormous benefits to Americans, including a surge of economic opportunity, massive investment, and new pathways for education online, House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler said in June. But there is growing evidence that a handful of gatekeepers have come to capture control over key arteries of online commerce, content, and communications.
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