Indiana AG Joins Facebook Lawsuit

Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill (WISH-TV Photo)

Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill is joining with 47 other state attorneys general in a lawsuit against Facebook. Hill’s office says the suit alleges Facebook “illegally stifles competition to protect its monopoly power.”

In the civil complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Facebook is charged with violations of the Sherman Act and the Clayton Act.

The attorneys general allege Facebook illegally acquired competitors, such as Instagram, “in a predator manner” and cut services to smaller threats, “depriving users from the benefits of competition and reducing privacy protections and services along the way.

“For years now, Facebook has used anticompetitive business tactics to rise from young upstart to unlawful monopoly. Tech giants like Facebook cannot build moats around their businesses to retain their dominance,” Attorney General Hill said. “It’s time that the courts recognize the harm Facebook’s business practices have caused and put a stop to them.”

The attorneys general, led by New York Attorney General Letitia James, are asking the court to to “halt Facebook’s illegal, anticompetitive conduct and block the company from continuing this behavior in the future.” The complaint also asks the court to restrain Facebook from making acquisitions valued at more than $10 million without advance notice to the states involved in the suit.

You can view the complaint by clicking here. Additionally, the Federal Trade Commission has filed a separate complaint in the same court.