I was reading an article about an antitrust lawsuit on Facebook due to the recently leaked documents detailing the company. After reading the article, it made me wonder. Why are monopolies called antitrust and what makes a company a monopoly under law? Most of us know a monopoly is where a business has control over a good or service. But where does the line get drawn? According to Investopedia, the textbook definition of a monopoly is a situation in which a single company or group owns all or nearly all of the market for a given type of product or service. So Facebook has a court case against them for being that. After reading the definition though, is Facebook really a monopoly? Facebook is a huge company there is no denying that, but are they a monopoly? Many successful competitors exist such as Tik-Tok and Twitter. It seems though that lawmakers are saying it is a specific type of social media. Facebook has the ahead on core values like sharing and community. What will happen if the government wins this case? What would probably end up happening is that Facebook would split with Instagram and WhatsApp, apps which the company owns. This is not the first time Facebook has faced trouble with the antitrust laws and even if they lose it likely won’t be the last.

Article read: Article link: https://www.politico.com/news/2021/10/25/facebook-market-dominance-whistleblower-516918

Author: Leah Nylen