A landmark antitrust trial against Meta is set to begin in Washington on Monday, with the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) alleging that the company bought Instagram and WhatsApp to eliminate competition and secure a monopoly.
The FTC claims that Meta’s acquisitions of Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014 were anti-competitive, and if it wins the case, it could force Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to sell off both platforms. The FTC had previously reviewed and approved the acquisitions but committed to monitoring their outcomes.
Rebecca Haw Allensworth, a professor of antitrust at Vanderbilt Law School, says the FTC’s argument centers on the idea that Meta acquired Instagram to neutralize a rising competitive threat to Facebook. She notes that Mr. Zuckerberg’s own words, including emails, may provide key evidence, as he stated that it’s “better to buy than to compete.”
Meta is expected to argue that the real question is whether consumers are better off as a result of the mergers. The company may present evidence that Instagram benefited from being owned by Facebook, with Mr. Zuckerberg and former COO Sheryl Sandberg potentially testifying at the trial.
The trial comes as the FTC faces scrutiny over its independence, with President Trump’s administration having fired two Democratic commissioners, Rebecca Kelly Slaughter and Alvaro Bedoya, in March. They claim the move was intended to intimidate the remaining commissioners.
The FTC’s case against Meta is considered an uphill battle, according to Laura Phillips-Sawyer, an associate professor of business law at the University of Georgia. She notes that the personal network services space, where Meta operates, has more competition compared to online search, where Google holds a monopoly.
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The Wall Street Journal reports that Mr. Zuckerberg personally urged Trump to persuade the FTC to abandon its case.
Meta has stated that the evidence will show that its platforms, including Instagram and WhatsApp, compete with other services such as TikTok, YouTube, and iMessage.
- FTC’s lawsuit against Meta: The commission’s action sends the message that no deal is ever truly final, according to a Meta spokesperson.
- Meta’s argument: The company will present evidence that Instagram became what it is today because it benefited from being owned by Facebook.
- Key testimonies: Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg are expected to testify at the trial.
