Facebook Not to Buy Houseparty Over Antitrust Concerns 3hb5o Report

Talks reportedly ended after Facebook realised that acquiring another big social networking player will invite anti-trust probe risk from the US FTC. i5i2p

By Indo-Asian News Service | Updated: 13 August 2019 12:36 IST

Facebook Not to Buy Houseparty Over Antitrust Concerns: Report

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As the US regulators investigate Facebook's acquisition of WhatsApp and Instagram, the social networking giant has reportedly shelved plans to buy popular group video chat app called Houseparty. 144t14

According to an Engadget Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

Houseparty lets s perform video chat with multiple people at once and is popular among those under age 24.

Online video game Epic Games acquired Houseparty in June for an undisclosed sum.

The US FTC last month approved a historic settlement involving about $5 billion (roughly Rs. 35,000 crores) with Facebook over its probe into the tech giant's privacy violations including the Cambridge Analytica scandal.

Apart from the record-breaking $5 billion penalty, Facebook will also submit to new sweeping restrictions and a modified corporate structure that will hold the company able for the decisions it makes about its s' privacy.

The US FTC is also probing what prompted Facebook to acquire WhatsApp.

According to reports, the FTC is looking to find out whether Facebook was trying to snuff out potential competitors before they could truly challenge the social media giant.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has already announced plans for convergence between Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.

In a first step towards merging all its platforms into one unified experience for s, Facebook is adding its brand name to Instagram and WhatsApp.

Instagram will soon become "Instagram from Facebook" and WhatsApp will turn into "WhatsApp from Facebook".

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