None of Meta’s Constitutionality Claims Is ‘Legally Viable,’ Says FTC Motion to Dismiss

The FTC has pursued administrative and judicial remedies against Meta to protect consumers’ privacy, consistent with its “statutory mandate” under the FTC Act, said the commission’s motion Wednesday (docket 1:23-cv-03562) in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

The FTC seeks to dismiss Meta’s Nov. 29 complaint (see 2311300039) and request for a preliminary injunction to block the agency from modifying its 2020 privacy consent order to include new restrictions on Meta’s business activities (see 2312080034). Meta’s complaint seeks a declaration that the FTC’s structure is unconstitutional.

The agency’s remedies have resulted in Meta consenting to the FTC issuing administrative orders in 2012 and again in 2020, said the commission. In 2023, the FTC found good cause to believe that Meta “failed to establish and implement an effective privacy program as required under the 2020 order and also violated the 2012 order," it said.

The commission responded by initiating an administrative proceeding to determine whether modifications to the 2020 order would be appropriate, it said. Meta now asserts that the FTC’s administrative proceedings are unconstitutional and seeks an injunction against the FTC’s reopening the 2020 order, it said.

Meta is “advancing constitutional claims it never raised before,” said the agency. “None of those claims are legally viable, much less support Meta’s request for the extraordinary remedy of a preliminary injunction,” it said. Meta hasn’t established irreparable harm as a required condition for any injunction, said the FTC.

Nor has Meta shown that harm to the company “outweighs the harm” of preventing the FTC from discharging its congressionally given duty to protect consumers, “or the harm to consumers whose privacy interests may be affected by Meta’s alleged misconduct,” it said. The court should deny Meta’s motion for a preliminary injunction and dismiss its complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, it said.