Facebook in the US is already below regulatory probe, but it can be cause to undergo much more stress if one House official has his way. Rep. David Cicilline (antitrust subcommittee chairman) has authored an editorial in the New York Times requesting the FTC to look into Facebook for possible antitrust breaches. He is worried that the social media behemoth not only used its power to gather and share info via questionable manner, but attempted to “smear” critics and “hinder” overseers while at the same time engaging in “apology campaigns and hollow, denial promises” that achieved little.
Cicilline also claimed that the FTC was not doing its duty. Advocates alerted “for years” that Facebook was possibly breaching the 2011 privacy consent order of FTC, but the commission supposedly did not put that order into effect. It did not block acquirements of WhatsApp and Instagram that assisted Facebook “expand its supremacy,” Cicilline claimed. He further claimed that Facebook may be misusing innovation. It purchased promising startups such as tbh only to close them down later, and banned Vine to avoid video service of Twitter from attaining ground.
On a related note, when iPhone consumers wish to identify constellations and stars, edit flaws out of their images, or simply join the newest video game trend, they turn to App Store by Apple Inc. where any app they purchase also comprises a 30% share for Apple.
That commission is a major problem in a closely regulated antitrust case that was presented earlier in the US Supreme Court. The 9 justices heard disputes in Apple’s attempt to escape loss in a lawsuit blaming it of violating federal antitrust regulations by monopolizing the industry for iPhone applications and causing users to pay more than they must. The justices eventually decided a wider question: Can users even sue for losses in an antitrust case such as this?
