Facebook is said to have volunteered to take part in creating a new competitive social network to avoid US government distrust lawsuits.

Before federal and state regulators in the United States file a lawsuit in federal court earlier this month, Facebook is reportedly increasingly prepared to avoid being prosecuted for breach of trust law. The Washington Post on Tuesday, citing sources familiar with the matter, said the company had offered to license its code to another company, thereby creating a new competitive social network. This underscores Facebook’s commitment to the competition, the newspaper said.

The FDC and 48 state lawsuits focus on the acquisition of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. Although both deals were ratified in 2012 and 2014, the Internet glove is now accused of using these purchases to prevent competition from its competitors.

For months, distrustful officials in Washington and across the country investigated Facebook and its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, which turned the company into an illegal monopoly. For almost 17 years the social media company has been planning to systematically acquire or eliminate all of its competitors, with regulators increasingly believing that engaging in illegal tactics is one of the most successful digital services. The most profitable in the world.

Facebook has long denied these claims. The social media company qualified for revisionist story trials this month and blamed companies such as Google, Snap, Dictoc and Twitter as evidence of stiff competition. He turned to advertising and other political arguments in hopes of avoiding the regulatory ban.

An idea put forward by Facebook would have allowed another company or developer to license its powerful code – and the complex network of relationships of its users, so they could create their own version very easily. Sources said a social network spoke anonymously to describe the non-public investigation of law enforcement officials.

But investigators eventually rejected the idea, believing that the competitive version of Facebook did not fully address their competitive concerns. Finally, the Federal Trade Commission and almost every state attorney general, led by Ledia James of New York City, filed a double complaint this month to remove Facebook.

However, Facebook’s offer explains what the social network was willing to give to get out of legal action. More than a dozen people who spoke to the Washington Post said that for more than 18 months, Facebook has stepped up its campaign, hired former government no-confidence lawyers and launched a series of internal initiatives focusing on competition issues. Facebook’s efforts are now paving the way for some of the most important legal conflicts of the digital age, which could shape not only Facebook’s future, but everything in Silicon Valley – and the capacity of government. Control it.

It has become more and more “sticky” for users as Facebook grows

The FTC lawsuit may force the company to separate from WhatsApp and Instagram. Democrat Senator Richard Blumenthal, who was Attorney General of Connecticut for 20 years before coming to Congress ten years ago, said: Law enforcement is getting rid of the decades-long satisfaction it has given these companies. Boss.

Part of the trial focuses on the concept of network effects, which describes how a network can grow, professionally, and become more and more “sticky” for users as it grows.

Alternative social networks have evolved in recent years, sometimes responding directly to Facebook. So technical knowledge is not necessary, but network effect and customer advancement are usually at the center of controllers ’concerns. When your friends and family are on Facebook’s services, it’s hard to leave it to a new site even though there are still some interesting features on Facebook. Using Facebook IDs on services like Instagram and WhatsApp can make it even harder.

The support offer to launch a competing social network reported by Facebook may not fully take this effect into account. Based on these lawsuits, regulators believe that Facebook’s continued existence depends not only on its technology, but also on the status quo already established in the lives of many people.

Facebook opposes its allegations and the Internet is competitive. The company declined to comment on the availability of executives, but a spokesman for the social network said in a statement: “We will continue to protect the ability of people and businesses to select our free services, ads and applications.” The value they bring.

The case, at least as a symbol, resembles the government’s last major crusade against a technology company in its attempt to overthrow Microsoft in the 1990s. At the time, state and federal officials sought to impose fines on Microsoft to counter the competition to protect its dominance of the Windows operating system and to improve the Internet Explorer browser in the lucrative personal computer market.

Microsoft eventually succeeded in preventing Washington and the government from removing the attorney general from its functions, but the case emerged as an oppressed and less aggressive digital player. This setback has basically allowed new Silicon Valley companies like Facebook to thrive – a social media company that, many years later, is now trying to avoid itself.

This deal turned Microsoft into a very cautious company in what it says and how it conducts its business, including in writing. I think the same thing is already happening on Facebook, says Michael A. Snyder, professor of management at Sloan School in MIT and author of a book on Microsoft. Kusumano said.

According to Facebook’s CEO, there is no doubt about the removal of the social network. Mark Zuckerberg said last year that he was in favor of Internet regulation: I don’t think companies should make all the decisions for themselves about what to look for and what not to look at on the Internet. Let’s see what appears to be one of the most important anti-trust cases of the digital age with the US Secretary of Justice case against Google.

Source: Le Washington Post

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See also:

United States: Facebook is a social media monopoly that buys, copies or deletes competitors, says House of Representatives Antitrust Commission
U.S. states plan to sue Facebook next week for breach of trust law
The Federal Trade Commission is said to be working on a no-confidence motion against Facebook, and the company is said to be examining past acquisitions.
The United States may file a no-confidence motion against Facebook in early November, while Google is expected to respond to a similar lawsuit by December 19.