David McLaughlin

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) made public for the first time the data it's using to bolster its case that Facebook has monopoly power over social networking. From September 2012 through December 2020, Facebook’s share of time spent by users of social media apps in the US has averaged 92 percent per month, according to a filing in federal court in Washington.

Facebook did something US technology giants have done countless times before: it bought a smaller company and closed the deal without notifying competition regulators. But this transaction -- the $400 million acquisition of image library Giphy -- was particularly bold. Giphy used a common -- and legal -- maneuver that lets companies avoid scrutiny from merger watchdogs: it paid a dividend to investors.

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has “grave concerns” about plans by T-Mobile to shut down the wireless network used by millions of Boost Mobile customers.

The chairman of the Federal Trade Commission said antitrust enforcers need to be worried about dominant companies buying startups that are emerging competitive threats -- highlighting one of the main issues in the agency’s investigation of Facebook. Chairman Joe Simons said that takeovers of nascent competitors can be harmful to consumers and said that enforcers need to be ready to step in to stop such deals.

States suing to block T-Mobile's proposed acquisition of Sprint urged the federal judge overseeing the landmark antitrust trial not to defer to the Trump administration’s approval of the $26.5 billion deal. Lawyers for NY and CA, which are leading the lawsuit for the states, said in a filing late Jan 8 that the deal’s approval by the Justice Department and the Federal Communications Commission doesn’t carry any special weight and should be ignored by the judge.

Federal Trade Commission Chairman Joe Simons aid he’s prepared to break up major technology platforms if necessary by undoing their past mergers as his agency investigates whether companies are harming competition. Chairman Simons, who is leading a broad review of the technology sector, said that breaking up a company is challenging, but could be the right remedy to rein in dominant companies and restore competition. “If you have to, you do it,” Chairman Simons said about breaking up tech companies. “It’s not ideal because it’s very messy. But if you have to you have to.”

Apparently, the  Federal Trade Commission opened an investigation into Facebook for possible antitrust violations, an early-stage probe that is examining competition in its oldest business -- social media. The agency has already contacted third parties that could aid in the investigation as it tries to understand competitive dynamics. Though the company has made many acquisitions and expanded into new businesses, including messaging, virtual reality and e-commerce, the FTC’s probe is focused on its most long-standing offering -- social networking.

Apparently, the Department of Justice is poised to approve T-Mobile’s merger with Sprint under a divestiture plan that would equip satellite-TV operator Dish Network with the building blocks for a new wireless network. The companies have spent weeks negotiating with antitrust enforcers and each other over the sale of assets to Dish to satisfy concerns that the more than $26 billion merger of the No. 3 and No. 4 wireless carriers by subscribers would hurt competition.

Apparently, top Justice Department officials want T-Mobile US and Sprint to lay the groundwork for a new wireless carrier -- with its own network -- as a condition to clearing their $26.5 billion merger. But the idea of spinning off a full-fledged national competitor would be a high bar for T-Mobile and Sprint to meet. T-Mobile and Sprint, the two smallest national wireless carriers, have to weigh whether the remedies offered to gain approval are too onerous.

T-Mobile suffered a significant setback in its bid for regulatory approval of its takeover of Sprint after failing to win over the Department of Justice (DOJ) with a remedy package, putting pressure on the companies to offer more concessions.