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Facebook lawsuits present the social-media behemoth with its biggest regulatory threat yet
11 December 2020 00:00
Duration 25:01
It’s hard to understate the significance of the two lawsuits targeting Facebook that were announced in the United States this week. The ambition of the court action by the US Federal Trade Commission and a collection of 48 states and territories is, quite simply, staggering. If enforcers have their way, Facebook could be broken up, its future acquisitions could be challenged and the novel theory of antitrust harm centering on privacy and innovation could wreak havoc on the social-media platform’s business model. And in another setback for tech giants this week, Australia’s bold plan to force both Facebook and Google to pay news publishers for content entered the home stretch.
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Editorial Team
James Panichi Senior Editor, Asia Pacific

James, an Australian journalist with over 25 years’ experience in print and electronic media, helps to oversee MLex’s coverage of regulatory risk in Asia, with special attention to Australia and New Zealand. In 2016, James was appointed as MLex’s managing editor for continental Europe, overseeing the Brussels bureau’s coverage of EU regulatory affairs and managing a team of 16 journalists in Brussels and Geneva. Previously James worked for the European Voice newspaper, before joining the... Read more
Khushita Vasant Chief Antitrust Correspondent, US

Khushita covers US antitrust enforcement and litigation for MLex. A former Brussels hand, she wrote about about antitrust & mergers for the Policy and Regulatory Report (PaRR), she has covered the EU's actions against Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon to name a few. Khushita specialises in tech and patent policy coverage which featured in the Concurrences Antitrust Writing Awards. Previously as a financial journalist for The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires, she wrote... Read more
Laurel Henning Senior Correspondent

Laurel is a senior correspondent specializing in competition law, data privacy and security, in Australia and New Zealand. Laurel reports from Sydney on criminal-cartel legislation and white-collar crime, as well as competition and consumer lawsuits involving companies including Google, Meta Platforms and Apple. While at MLex Laurel has also reported boardroom disputes and shareholder campaigns agitating for changes to company strategy. Laurel joined MLex in 2013 and reported for five years on European energy and... Read more