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  Technology   In Other news  15 Dec 2019  US FTC may stop Facebook from integrating its chat applications

US FTC may stop Facebook from integrating its chat applications

AP
Published : Dec 15, 2019, 1:04 pm IST
Updated : Dec 15, 2019, 1:04 pm IST

the FTC may take antitrust action to prevent Facebook from integrating its disparate messaging apps.

Facebook has been planning on integrating its WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram app since 2017. (Photo: Pixabay)
 Facebook has been planning on integrating its WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram app since 2017. (Photo: Pixabay)

Facebook’s stock dropped almost 3% in regular trading after news reports suggested that the FTC may take antitrust action to prevent Facebook from integrating its disparate messaging apps. The reports said the Federal Trade Commission may seek a court injunction that would block Facebook’s “interoperability” plans for Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and Instagram, which involves revising them to use the same underlying software. Both the FTC and Facebook declined to comment on the reports.

Facebook has been planning to integrate the apps since early 2019. Federal regulators are concerned that Facebook’s plan could make it hard to break up the company should the FTC find that necessary. The news was first published by The Wall Street Journal.

Tags: facebook, facebook messenger, whatsapp, ftc