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FTC Eyes Suit to Block Facebook Plan to Merge Apps

  • Facebook is taking steps to stitch together messaging apps
  • Company plan would make antitrust breakup tougher, critics say
   
Photographer: Johannes Berg/Bloomberg
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U.S. antitrust enforcers are considering going to court to stop Facebook Inc.’s plan to merge technology systems so that users can communicate across the company’s apps, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The Federal Trade Commission is studying whether to seek a court order to block the company’s effort to enable messaging among users of WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook Messenger, said the person, who declined to be named because the investigation is confidential.