US Trade Body Wants Facebook To Sell Instagram, WhatsApp. Here's Why It Matters

The United States Federal Trade Commission isn't letting Facebook off the hook quickly, recently refiling its antitrust complaint against the company.

The FTC, in its complaint called for Facebook to be broken up, essentially forcing it to sell Instagram and WhatsApp, company's other two famous offerings.

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The revised complaint calls out Facebook's social networking monopoly in the US, while adding how the company has made it difficult for other companies to compete with it.

Currently redacted, the FTC's complaint will remain sealed for 10 more days.

Why is Facebook facing heat?

Facebook, along with other social media giants are currently under the gaze of antitrust authorities in the US and the European Union (EU) for their alleged anti-competition practices and for buying out competitors.

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Both Instagram and WhatsApp were not originally owned by Facebook, but now constitute a large chunk of the company's portfolio.

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Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has been working on ways to integrate the three applications hoping to bring ease of use.

But analysts are wary, claiming that such decisions could make it even more difficult for regulators to break up the three apps.

Is Facebook killing competition?

In the documents, the FTC accused Facebook of setting up a monopoly for "personal social networking services" in the States.

The document notes how the closest competition for Facebook is currently Snapchat, which has a much smaller user base when compared to Facebook and Instagram.

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The FTC adds that Facebook will continue to buy out companies (what it calls "kneecapping"), unless it is stopped.

Also read: Facebook Enables End To End Encryption For Voice And Video Calls

In the concluding statement, the FTC urged regulators to force Facebook to sell off WhatsApp and Instagram to facilitate healthy competition.

In addition, the FTC wants Facebook to be prohibited from making similar purchases in the future.

The FTC also wants Facebook to seek approval before making similar deals in the future. Do you think Facebook is exercising a monopoly with its mammoth reach in the tech industry? Let us know in the comments.