# Facebook sued by over 40 states **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 9, 2020, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facebook-sued-by-over-40-states/927664 "2020-12-09T19:50:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2020, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facebook-sued-by-over-40-states/927664/1 "2020-12-09T19:50:34Z")
For the worst haircut of a CEO? more like anti trust . Never used facebook so I guess I miss out on what my friends from 40 years ago had for lunch. > **[Facebook must be broken up, the US government says in a groundbreaking lawsuit...](https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/09/tech/facebook-antitrust-lawsuit-ftc-attorney-generals/index.html)** > > Dozens of states and the federal government sued Facebook on Wednesday in twin antitrust lawsuits, alleging that the social media giant has abused its dominance in the digital marketplace and engaged in anticompetitive behavior. ---
**Author:** ![Grestarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grestarian/32/3227_2.png) [@Grestarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grestarian)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2020, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facebook-sued-by-over-40-states/927664/2 "2020-12-13T06:35:57Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > I guess I miss out on what my friends from 40 years ago had for lunch. The real problem is that, since nothing ever goes away on the Internet, it will soon be possible for your friends to brag on FB about what they had for lunch forty years ago. No, you still won’t be missing anything; no, they still won’t understand why you don’t have a FB account. –G! ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2020, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facebook-sued-by-over-40-states/927664/3 "2020-12-13T10:46:24Z")
It’s not about Facebook the website, but the other companies it took over. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2020, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facebook-sued-by-over-40-states/927664/4 "2020-12-17T19:01:06Z")
and now Google is being sued by a bunch of states > **[Google hit with its third antitrust lawsuit since October, this time by a...](https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/google-hit-third-antitrust-lawsuit-october-rcna206)** > > The Justice Department filed suit against Google in October alongside 11 Republican state AGs. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2020, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facebook-sued-by-over-40-states/927664/5 "2020-12-17T19:09:08Z")
If only 40 states combined had the same kind of resources Facebook and Google do to combat these charges. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2020, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facebook-sued-by-over-40-states/927664/6 "2020-12-17T20:40:24Z")
I can guarantee you it’s nothing about the money and/or the political ambitions of some Attorneys General. They’re just fighting for you, the little guy. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2020, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facebook-sued-by-over-40-states/927664/7 "2020-12-17T20:58:53Z")
Part of the issue here is that social media platforms have a natural barrier to entry: The value of a social media platform depends on how many other people are using it, so even without any untoward conduct by an established player, it’s very difficult for a newcomer to the market to compete. Heck, even Google wasn’t able to compete directly against Facebook, as witnessed by the attempt of Google+. How should the law address markets where there’s such a natural barrier to entry? That’s a much tougher question.