Facebook value rises over $1 trillion as antitrust complaints are dismissed
District Court judge ruled that the federal complaint against the social media giant was "legally insufficient"
Facebook's value has risen over $1 trillion for the first time as antitrust complaints against the company were dismissed yesterday.
Federal and state antitrust complaints had been filed by the Federal Trade Commission and several US states last year, accusing Facebook of seeking a monopoly following its acquisition of Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014.
District Court Judge James Boasberg ruled that the federal complaint against the social media giant was "legally insufficient," Reuters reported. The judge added that the states waited too long to challenge the Instagram and WhatsApp acquisitions, and dismissed this complaint too.
The FTC will be allowed to file a new complaint if it wishes to, from July 29. A spokesperson said the commission was "closely reviewing the opinion and assessing the best option forward."
Following this verdict, Facebook's shares increased 4%, reaching a $1 trillion market value.
A spokesperson from the social network commented: "We are pleased that today's decisions recognize the defects in the government complaints filed against Facebook."