Meta Beats Phhhoto Inc. in US Court Over Anti-Competitive Conduct Allegations

Meta has been dismissed in a lawsuit against PHHHOTO Inc. after defeating antitrust litigation to destroy the now-defunct photo software application. As per a US judge, PHHHOTO failed to bring its claims under relevant antitrust law.

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Dismissing Meta

Meta beats antitrust litigation on Thursday and has been dismissed by the United States Court. According to a report from Reuters, the company was alleged by social media app for photo editing PHHHOTO Inc. over anti-competitive conduct allegations. This application featured short and looped videos.

Judge Kiyo A. Matsumoto dismissed Meta in Brooklyn, New York federal court and stated that the startup failed to bring its claims under relevant US antitrust law. "Phhhoto has failed in its 69-page amended complaint of 222 paragraphs to allege sufficient facts that cure the untimeliness of all of its federal claims," Matsumoto noted.

Due to the no exception applies for limitation periods, Meta was dismissed from this case and declined to allow PHHHOTO to fine-tune its case if ever another complaint will be brought up. No comments were given by the startup regarding the Court's decision.

Meta's Response

A spokesperson from Meta described this case as "meritless" ever since the startup filed the lawsuit in 2021. The company denied any allegations regarding anticompetitive conduct to Phhhoto Inc v Meta Platforms, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, No. 1:21-cv-06159 case.

The Star reported that Scott Martin of Hausfeld defended PHHHOTO while Aaron Panner of Kellog Hansen Todd Figel & Frederick defended Meta.

Filing the Lawsuit

In 2021, defunct photo application PHHHOTO sued Meta on antitrust grounds and claimed that the platform feigned interest in working with it, and eventually copied its features and hid its name from search results.

The Verge reported that this drove the company out of business. Phhhoto was allegedly destroyed by the actions caused by Instagram and Facebook as viable businesses and ruined the company's prospects for investment.

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The company noted in a complaint filed in US District Court, "Phhhoto failed as a direct result of Facebook's anticompetitive conduct. But for Facebook's conduct, Phhhoto was positioned to grow into a social networking giant, similar in size, scope, and shareholder value to other social networking and media companies with which Facebook did not interfere."

Both Meta Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg and former Instagram Chief Executive Officer Kevin Systrom allegedly downloaded the application on August 14 and examined its features, and replicated them eventually.

PHHHOTO was launched in 2014 and shut down its services in 2017. The company claimed that it had 3.7 million monthly active users at its peak, and celebrities were uncompensated users of the application, including Beyonce, Joe Jonas, Chrissy Teigen, and Bella Hadid.