Snapchat’s lawyers help the feds take on ‘He Who Must Not Be Named,’ AKA Facebook

Snapchat presents feds with ‘Project Voldemort’ in order to help take down Facebook.

Snapchat’s lawyers have been keeping a dossier of Facebook’s aggressive growth tactics for years, code-named “Project Voldemort,” according to the WSJ

Snapchat’s lawyers help the feds take on ‘He Who Must Not Be Named,’ AKA Facebook

As the Federal Trade Commission investigates whether Facebook has committed antitrust violations, the agency is giving Snap and other competitors a chance to (golden) snitch on the record. 

It’s bigger than Potter vs. Malfoy 

We’re talking Order of the Phoenix vs. Death Eaters. Snap has its own beef with Facebook: In “Project Voldemort,” the company details years of competition-stifling practices — Hmm, you mean like when Facebook and Instagram both rolled out nearly spot-on versions of Snap’s flagship features (stories… filters…)?

But Snap isn’t alone. The FTC has apparently been talking to dozens of other current and former competitors. Many of them claim they’ve been unfairly burned by Facebook’s aggressive practices as the company grew from a Hogwarts social network to a service used by more than 2B muggles worldwide

Scared, Zuckerberg?

You wish, Malfoy. Well, maybe a little. So far, CEO Mark Zuckerberg has made out like the Boy Who Lived despite multiple investigations into his company’s alleged abuses, ranging from these antitrust concerns to mishandling users’ data. And he’s even invited the government to regulate his company more.

But inside the company, senior leadership wants to play it safe. The FTC has shown it’s not afraid to crack down on big tech lately. And as Facebook’s rivals pass damaging info to investigators, they could be handing the government a Marauder’s Map to holding the company to account. 

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