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A Washington judge ruled on November 25 that Meta will face trial in April over the FTC’s allegation that it acquired Instagram and WhatsApp to eliminate rivalry in social media.
The Federal Trade Commission’s antitrust case against Meta, filed in 2020 under the Trump-era administration, accuses the company of maintaining a social media monopoly by overpaying for Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014 to suppress competition rather than challenging the mobile market.
🚨 Breaking: FTC antitrust case against Meta to proceed to trial on April 14
The FTC's antitrust case against Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, is set for trial on April 14.
The FTC sued Meta in 2020, accusing it of maintaining an illegal monopoly over… pic.twitter.com/dwjBNodRwW
— Jason Castellano (@_ImJasonC) November 25, 2024
Judge Boasberg scheduled the trial for April 14, ahead of Google’s antitrust remedies hearings.
As reported by Bloomberg, FTC attorney Daniel Matheson estimated the trial will last 10 to 12 weeks, while Meta lawyer Mark Hansen predicted it will take four to six weeks.
Boasberg Lets FTC’s Case Against Meta Proceed
Boasberg first dismissed the FTC’s lawsuit in 2021 but allowed the amended complaint to proceed.
Earlier this month, he rejected Meta’s argument to drop the case. Meta had claimed the lawsuit relied on a limited perspective of social media markets and ignored rivals like YouTube, X, LinkedIn, and TikTok. Boasberg, however, dismissed the FTC’s claim that Facebook strengthened its control by blocking external application developers except if they consented to avoid competing with its primary services.
A Meta representative expressed confidence that the trial will demonstrate that acquiring Instagram and WhatsApp helped competition and benefited consumers. Boasberg ruled that Meta could not argue that the acquisition of WhatsApp strengthened its position against Apple and Google.
Big Tech Faces Antitrust Scrutiny
The case is one of several major antitrust lawsuits targeting Big Tech. Apple, Amazon, and Alphabet’s Google are all facing legal action, with Google recently losing a case over blocking competition in online search engines.
Although the FTC filed its antitrust lawsuit during President-Elect Donald Trump’s tenure, his upcoming administration is expected to adopt a more lenient stance on mergers and acquisitions.
