States probe the tech giants

A bipartisan coalition of state attorneys general are pushing forward with their antitrust probes into Facebook parent company Meta.

The group has filed an appeal in their case based on the company’s prior acquisitions and a reported new joint inquiry with the federal government on the company’s virtual reality unit.

The appeal: New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) led a coalition of 48 attorneys general Friday in filing an appeal arguing that a district court judge’s dismissal of their case against Facebook, initially filed in December 2020, was in error.

“Time and again, the social media giant has used its market dominance to force small companies out of business and reduce competition for millions of users. We’re filing this appeal with the support of almost every state in the nation because we will always fight efforts to stifle competition, reduce innovation, and cut privacy protections, even when we face a goliath like Facebook,” James said in a statement.

The latest effort by the states comes after a judge on Tuesday denied Facebook’s motion to dismiss the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) complaint against it filed at the same time as the states’.

New probe: As the attorneys general and FTC push forward with their cases, they’re also reportedly probing Meta’s virtual reality unit, Oculus, over potential anti-competitive practices, Bloomberg reported Friday.

The FTC and a group of states led by New York have questioned outside developers that make Oculus apps in recent months, people with knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg.