FTC Asks DC Court to Direct Meta to File Joint Status Reports

The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia should direct Meta to file joint monthly status reports with the FTC so the company won’t delay resolving issues with the agency during the discovery phase of its antitrust lawsuit, the FTC said in a filing Thursday in docket 1:20-cv-03590. Meta replied, saying it’s unnecessary to amend the status report schedule and doing so would place an “unfair” burden on the company. The FTC noted the court required joint status reports in May and August, which prompted the two sides to “resolve lingering discovery disputes in the days before the reports were due. The FTC said its hope is future reports would have the same “salutary effect.” The company delayed addressing other discovery issues since the last joint status report in August, the agency said. There's “no need to amend the Scheduling Order to require more frequent status reports and ... doing so will impose an unfair burden on Meta and present the Court with unripe disputes,” Meta said. The FTC is seeking information about “inaccurate or deficient privilege claims,” collaborative work environments, the company’s document preservation efforts, production timelines and deposition negotiations.