US appeals court rejects bid by states to revive antitrust lawsuit against Facebook

A U.S. appeals court on Thursday refused to revive a lawsuit filed by states against Meta's Facebook that alleged the company had broken antitrust law.

Dozens of states led by New York asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia last year to reinstate the lawsuit, which U.S. District Judge James Boasberg of the District of Columbia rejected, saying they had waited too long to file.

Both the Federal Trade Commission and the states had asked the court in 2020 to order Facebook to sell Instagram, which it bought for $1 billion in 2012, and WhatsApp, which it bought for $19 billion in 2014. The FTC case is going forward.


The three-judge unanimous appeals court panel said it agreed that "the states unduly delayed in bringing suit."

"The States were on notice of Facebook's two major acquisitions. Both were publicized," Circuit Judge A. Raymond Randolph wrote, noting that the FTC had investigated both transactions.

Neither the New York attorney general's office nor Facebook immediately responded to a request for comment.