Facebook wants to integrate Instagram and WhatsApp. The U.S. government may try to stop it

The US government may try to stop Facebook from integrating a variety of his platform - Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp - in a move that has been a primary goal for the company as it faces increasing regulatory scrutiny, according to three sources with knowledge of the matter who were not authorized to speak publicly.

Facebook has been the subject of an antitrust investigation by the Federal Trade Commission, a federal government regulator’s main business, which has seen the company’s dominance in social networking and online advertising. Facebook acquisition has also been part of the investigation.

The FTC can seek a preliminary injunction to stop Facebook from weaving the different sections together. The command can handle a heavy blow to Facebook and an attempt to combine the service, which began earlier this year. It will also leave the company more vulnerable to be broken.

FTC considerations news was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

The command is one of several steps the FTC is considering as it looks for a check up power and address growing concerns that the size of the company may reduce competition between social networks.
Pursuing the command would be a remarkable step for the FTC, which does not usually try to cancel the merger had occurred. Facebook bought Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014. The five members of the commission would have to vote to pursue the order and then file a lawsuit in federal court. The FTC also will need to prove that Facebook violated antitrust law.

With the looming regulatory concern, Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg announced in January that he would work to integrate a family Facebook application for creating more seamless messaging between multiple services.

Facebook critics also see the measures as a pre-emptive steps to make it harder for Washington to break up the company.
Facebook shares fell sharply on Thursday, down about 2.7 percent.

Facebook has been the subject of scrutiny wider than politicians, many of whom have weighed in with a good plan about organizing your broken or facebook.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., Tweeted that the “just have to start.”

“Facebook consolidation greedy and integration of Instagram, WhatsApp and Oculus is an insult to our antitrust laws,” wrote Blumenthal. “The FTC and DOJ can not continue to leave Facebook provocations and anti-competitive behavior is unparalleled. The action was too late.

You can see tweets here:

Facebook wants to integrate Instagram and Whatsapp. The U.S. government may try to stop it. https://t.co/nT9mn67OSJ

— NBC News (@NBCNews) December 13, 2019

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