A group of app startups filed a class-action lawsuit against Facebook for what they are alleging is “anticompetitive” or “monopolistic behavior”.
The complaint was submitted to federal courts on Thursday by app platforms Lenddo, Beehive, Reveal Chat, LikeBright and Cir.cl.
The startups claim that Facebook and CEO Mark Zuckerberg were making conscious efforts to sabotage any upcoming platforms that could possibly be competition by creating barriers to entry or buying out the competition.
“This action seeks to halt the most brazen, willful anticompetitive scheme in a generation, a scheme that verges on final, irreparable completion as of the date of this complaint,” the complaint said. “Facebook stands today as a paragon of unbridled market power.”
Still, Facebook denies the allegations. “We operate in a competitive environment where people and advertisers have many choices,” a Facebook representative said. “In the current environment, where plaintiffs’ attorneys see financial opportunities, claims like this aren’t unexpected but they are without merit.”
The plaintiffs are requesting that Zuckerberg give up his majority stake in Facebook to break up the amount of control the company has over the app market. The apps used to be under Facebook, but are now defunct.
Zuckerberg and Facebook have been under scrutiny the past several months after being accused of using the data of users to leverage the social network and derail competitors.
In the summer of 2019, Zuckerberg was forced to testify at a series of House Judiciary Committee hearings regarding antitrust issues.
Back in November, documents were leaked exposing Facebook’s tactics. The company is currently under investigation by the New York Attorney General Letitia James and the Federal Trade Commission.
