WASHINGTON — A federal court threw out the Federal Trade Commission’s antitrust complaint against Facebook on Monday, dealing a major setback to the government’s push to break up the social media giant.
The complaint the Federal Trade Commission filed in December was insufficient and failed to provide enough facts to back its claims that Facebook had a monopoly over personal social networking, a judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia wrote in an 53-page opinion.
The judge, James E. Boasberg, said that the case was not dismissed. But he said that the agency needed to refile the complaint within 30 days.
A spokeswoman for the F.T.C. and a spokesman for Facebook did not immediately have a comment.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
