U.S., states file sweeping antitrust lawsuits against Facebook, setting stage for potential breakup

WASHINGTON POST

The U.S. government and 48 state attorneys general filed wide-ranging antitrust lawsuits against Facebook on Wednesday, setting the stage for a potential breakup of the social-networking giant over charges it engaged in illegal, anti-competitive tactics to buy, bully or kill its rivals. The twin lawsuits filed in federal district court chiefly challenge Facebook’s past acquisition of two companies: Instagram, a photo-sharing tool, and WhatsApp, a messaging service. Federal and state investigators allege that the deals ultimately helped solidify Facebook as a dominant digital juggernaut with the power to weaponize its data to ensure no other company could catch up — all the while leaving web users with few quality, privacy-protective social-networking alternatives. read more

General Electric Agrees to Pay $200 Million Penalty for Disclosure Violations

SEC

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that General Electric Co. (GE) has agreed to pay a $200 million penalty to settle charges for disclosure failures in its power and insurance businesses.  In 2017 and 2018, GE’s stock price fell almost 75% as challenges in its power and insurance businesses were disclosed to the public. According to the SEC’s order, GE misled investors by describing its GE Power profits without explaining that one-quarter of profits in 2016 and nearly half in the first three quarters of 2017 stemmed from reductions in its prior cost estimates. read more »