Meta faces trial in Washington over claims that it created an illegal monopoly in social media. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) says Meta used billions of dollars to buy Instagram and WhatsApp to remove potential competitors and stay on top. The FTC filed the case in 2020 during President Donald Trump’s first term. Now, it wants Meta to either restructure its business or sell off Instagram and WhatsApp.
Meta’s Chief Legal Officer Jennifer Newstead called the case weak and harmful to tech growth. In a blog post, she wrote, “It’s absurd that the FTC is trying to break up a great American company at the same time the Administration is trying to save Chinese-owned TikTok.”
The trial is very important for Meta’s future. Experts say Instagram brings in about half of Meta’s U.S. ad money. The case also gives a first look at how serious the new Trump administration is about taking action against large tech companies. Meta has tried to stay close to Trump, dropping content rules that Republicans said were unfair and giving $1 million to his inauguration. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has also visited the White House several times recently.
FTC spokesperson Joe Simonson said, “The Trump-Vance FTC could not be more ready for this trial,” adding that the agency has some of the best lawyers working day and night.
Zuckerberg is Expected to Speak During the Trial
He will likely be asked about emails where he talked about buying Instagram to remove it as a threat and worrying that WhatsApp might grow into a full social network.
Meta says its purchase of Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014 helped users and that old emails don’t matter now, especially with strong competition from TikTok, YouTube, and Apple’s messaging services. Meta will use traffic increases during TikTok’s temporary U.S. ban as proof that users do see the apps as interchangeable.
The FTC disagrees, saying Meta still controls the platforms where people share content with friends and family. Its U.S. competitors are Snapchat and a small app called MeWe. Apps like TikTok, YouTube, X (formerly Twitter), and Reddit are for broadcasting to strangers, not personal sharing, the FTC says.
In a past ruling, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg said the FTC had enough evidence to go to trial but would face hard questions.
The trial is set to continue until July. If the FTC wins, it will need a second trial to show that breaking up Meta would actually fix the competition problem. Losing Instagram would hit Meta hard financially. While Meta doesn’t share revenue per app, research firm Emarketer predicted that Instagram would earn $37.13 billion this year—over half of Meta’s U.S. ad income. Instagram also earns more money per user than any other social platform.
WhatsApp makes less money now but is Meta’s most-used app. It is becoming more profitable through business tools like chatbots. Zuckerberg believes this “business messaging” could drive future growth for the company.
This case is one of five major lawsuits where the FTC and U.S. Justice Department are accusing big tech companies of holding illegal monopolies.
Stay tuned to Brandsynario for the latest news and updates.