HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHMT) — The stage is set Thursday morning for a possible break-up of the social media giant, Facebook, calling for the company to sell off Instagram and WhatsApp.

Attorney General Josh Shapiro, along with a bipartisan coalition of 48 states, are accusing Facebook of anti-competetive practices, claiming the company illegally acquired potential competitors in a “predatory manner.”

“Facebook has argued for a while that they face a number of competitors out there whether it’s TikTok or Twitter…the reality is, it’s sort of in a league of its own, said Roger Cheng, Head of News, CNET. “Facebook itself is massive. the most likely outcome of this lawsuit is a settlement of some sort.”

Facebook purchased Instagram in 2012 for $1 billion, and then WhatsApp for $19 billion two years later.

The FTC signed off on both acquisitions.

Facebook is vowing to fight any legal challenge saying “Antitrust laws exist to protect consumers and promote innovation, not to punish successful businesses.”

In a statement released by AG Shapiro regarding their decision to file the lawsuit, he says its straightforward.

“This is not how normal businesses operate,” AG Shapiro said. “It is how illegal monopolies operate. [Facebook is] breaking the law and we are going to stop them in court.”

The legal filings include an email from Zuckerberg in 2008 in which he allegedly wrote “Better to buy than compete.”