FTC’s Court Loss Against Facebook Could Spur Congress on Antitrust Reform

A federal court ruling on Monday handed Facebook an unexpected and dramatic win—for now—in its defense against U.S. antitrust lawyers who were seeking to force the company to spin off Whatsapp and Instagram.

The ruling by a federal judge to toss out a pair of antitrust lawsuits filed last fall by the Federal Trade Commission and a coalition of U.S. states also gave fresh ammunition to politicians who are pushing new bipartisan congressional bills that would update antitrust laws. The new laws would help the FTC file stronger cases and avoid the kind of embarrassment it suffered on Monday.