Despite ongoing government antitrust investigations and lawsuits, tech giants Facebook and Google are continuing to finalize deals to purchase rival companies.
Axios reports that despite an antitrust lawsuit filed against Google by the DOJ and reports of addiitonal incoming government antitrust lawsuits, tech giants such as Facebook and Google are continuing to finalize deals to purchase smaller rivals. On Monday, Facebook announced that it has purchased a customer service chatbot startup called Kustomer for $1 billion, the same amount the company paid for the photo-sharing app Instagram in 2012.
Axios states that the new deal is just another sign that the largest tech companies in the world will not stop buying smaller companies despite facing enormous antitrust scrutiny worldwide. Google is also awaiting approval for the acquisition of the health and fitness tracking device manufacturer Fitbit for $2.1 billion. Facebook also plans to acquire the animated image sharing service Giphy for $400 million.
The Justice Department and 11 states filed a major antitrust case against Google in October in which they accused the company of using anti-competitive practices to improve its position in the online search market. The FTC is also reportedly set to bring an antitrust case against Facebook.
Breitbart News recently reported that authorities are preparing as many as four more cases targeting Google or Facebook by the end of January 2021, these lawsuits would come shortly after the Justice Department’s antitrust lawsuit filed against Google last month. The lawsuits reportedly focus on whether the tech giant abused their power in the internet economy, focusing on Google’s position in the search and advertising industry and Facebook’s dominance in the social media market.
Both companies have denied using their power in an anti-competitive manner, saying that they operate in extremely competitive markets and that their services benefit consumers.
Source: Breitbart
