Facebook offered to license the code before the antitrust charges

Before federal and state investigators filed antitrust lawsuits against Facebook in federal court this month, the company’s top lawyers allegedly extended an olive branch to show it could boost competition.

Facebook’s lawyers told state and federal investigators that they could help a new social network get out of the way by providing its own code and another company’s user networks, the Washington Post reported on Tuesday.

Investigators eventually refused to accept Facebook on the suggestion, the Post reported, but the offer illustrates both what Facebook was willing to give up to get out of lawsuits and what not. Facebook has rejected claims of anti-competitive behavior.

Part of the state and federal processes focus on the concept of network effects, which describes how a network can become, from an industrial point of view, more and more “sticky” for users as it gets bigger. For example, once most friends and family of users have joined a single social network, that user has fewer incentives to move to a new platform with fewer users, even if it has some more desirable features.

The offer reported by Facebook may not have a full account for this purpose. Based on the lawsuits, regulators believe that Facebook’s power to maintain is based not only on its technology, but also on its already entrenched position in the lives of many people.

Facebook did not comment to CNBC, but a spokesman told the Post in a statement: “We will continue to vigorously defend the ability of people and companies to choose our services, advertising and free applications because of the value bring “.

An FTC spokeswoman declined to comment, and a representative of New York Attorney General Letitia James, who is leading the states’ effort against Facebook, did not respond immediately.

Read the full story at The Washington Post.

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