Alabama NOT joining in Suit by 48 States

 

 All of the U.S. States...and The District of Columbia...are suing Facebook. The N.Y. Times explains the basic target of the lawsuit this way:

"Federal and state regulators of both parties, who have investigated the company for over 18 months, said in separate lawsuits that Facebook’s purchases, especially Instagram for $1 billion in 2012 and WhatsApp for $19 billion two years later, eliminated competition that could have one day challenged the company’s dominance."

     So why are Alabama and South Carolina the only states sitting this one out?

     The only recent mention of Facebook that I can find among the press releases from Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall is this kissy-kissy one from last March   

(MONTGOMERY)—Attorney General Steve Marshall announced today a partnership with Facebook to combat unconscionable online price gouging of Alabamians during the current pandemic. The partnership is the first announcement by Attorney General Marshall in his effort to enlist the nation’s largest technology companies to stem the tide of price gouging of consumers seeking to protect themselves from the COVID-19 virus.

Whatever. 

Something is preventing Alabama from agreeing on the suit, which virtually every other AG has signed onto.