Meta victorious in FTC antitrust case

Meta has emerged victorious in its years-long legal battle with the Federal Trade Commission, which accused the company of maintaining an illegal monopoly on social networking.

In an opinion released Tuesday, Judge James Boasberg of the U.S. District Court in Washington, DC, ruled that the FTC failed to prove its case. The agency first filed the suit five years ago, arguing that Meta’s ownership of Instagram and WhatsApp gave it greater control over the market. But Boasberg wrote that even if Meta once had monopoly power, the FTC could not show that the company “still possessed such power.”

Boasberg earlier dismissed the case in 2021, saying the FTC had not provided enough evidence that Facebook, as the company was then known, had market power. The FTC later filed an amended complaint citing user metrics and comparisons to competitors such as Snapchat, Google+ and MySpace, allowing the case to proceed. The long-delayed trial finally began earlier this year.

Meta’s chief legal officer, Jennifer Newsted, praised the decision in a statement to outlets, saying, “Today’s decision shows that Meta faces tough competition. Our products are beneficial to people and businesses and exemplify American innovation and economic growth.”

At the center of the matter was the high-profile acquisition of Instagram and WhatsApp by Meta. The FTC sought to kill both deals, arguing that users lacked meaningful alternatives to Meta-owned platforms to connect with friends and family.

But Boasberg supported Meta’s position that the social media landscape has changed dramatically since the early Facebook era. Apps like TikTok and YouTube now compete for equal time, attention and content, undermining the government’s monopoly claim.

Boasberg wrote, “Although each of Meta’s empirical demonstrations can be disputed, they all tell a consistent story: People regard TikTok and YouTube as alternatives to Facebook and Instagram, and the amount of competitive overlap is economically significant.”