Federal government refiles monopoly complaint in Facebook antitrust case

The Federal Trade Commission has sharpened its antitrust case against Facebook, re-filing a complaint accusing the social networking giant of illegal monopoly behavior in a suit that ultimately could force a spinoff of its popular Instagram and WhatsApp services.

In the revised complaint, filed Thursday, the FTC adds detail to earlier allegations that Facebook grew its market power by buying up or bullying potential rivals. By allegedly doing so at a critical time — just when mobile devices were becoming popular — Facebook "eliminated the possibility that rivals might harness the power of the mobile internet to challenge Facebook's dominance," the FTC argued. In addition to acquiring smaller rivals, such as Instagram, Facebook kneecapped potential competitors by restricting third-party developers who built software that connected to Facebook's platform, the FTC alleged Thursday.