EBay slams ‘alarming’ Meta subpoena in FTC monopoly case

E-commerce platform eBay Inc on Monday requested a U.S. pass judgement on to dam a bid by means of Meta Platforms Inc for testimony from an eBay company reliable because the social media massive seeks opponents’ knowledge to counter a Federal Business Fee antitrust lawsuit.

EBay’s attorneys from Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan stated in a submitting in San Francisco federal courtroom that Meta is hard confidential trade details about eBay’s privateness insurance policies, knowledge retention and different subjects that don’t seem to be related to the FTC‘s monopoly claims.

The subpoena struggle is the newest flashpoint in Meta’s marketing campaign to squeeze knowledge from different generation and social media firms upfront of a imaginable trial subsequent yr towards the FTC.

Meta has confronted some resistance from different firms that stated its calls for for info have been too wide or invasive. In November, a pass judgement on dominated Sequoia Capital may just now not quash subpoenas from Meta looking for details about how the challenge capital company analysed the photo-sharing website online Instagram and the messaging carrier WhatsApp sooner than Meta purchased them.

“Meta’s discovery gluttony confirms its request of eBay isn’t worthy of the weight Meta seeks to impose,” eBay’s attorneys instructed the California courtroom. “The breadth of the subpoena,” they stated, “is alarming.”

A Meta spokesperson stated in a commentary that the corporate is “looking for knowledge from firms with which we compete or which we imagine have knowledge when it comes to the FTC’s claims.”

The FTC sued Meta in D.C. federal courtroom in 2020, accusing the corporate of abusing its energy within the “non-public social networking services and products” marketplace. The lawsuit seeks to pressure Meta to promote the photo-sharing app Instagram and messaging platform WhatsApp.

Meta has denied the FTC’s antitrust allegations. Amongst different defences, it disputes the FTC’s asserted “non-public social networking services and products” marketplace.

EBay’s Quinn Emanuel legal professionals derided Meta as a “litigant that has utterly dismissed the limits of reason why and proportionality” in looking for knowledge from 3rd events.

A consultant from eBay and its legal professionals at Quinn Emanuel didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark.

The FTC declined to remark.

Legal professionals for eBay contend the corporate does not compete with Meta on social networking however does face off over the Fb Market e-commerce carrier.

EBay stated it has already disclosed just about 2,500 pages of inner data to Meta.

However the corporate stated it “will have to now not be pressured to disclose additional confidential knowledge to a competitor absent a transparent appearing the guidelines might be related and vital, which isn’t the case right here.”

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