Meta antitrust trial: updates from the monopoly battle with the FTC
2 min read
Summary
The trial between the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Meta over antitrust allegations that the social media giant used its market dominance to buy out rivals, thereby suppressing competition, will begin on April 14.
FTC has accused Meta of purchasing potential competitors in the social media market in order to secure its market position.
The trial is expected to last around two months and will centre on whether Meta’s acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp unfairly suppressed competition.
The lawsuit has been several years in the making and is being closely watched as a landmark case regarding Big Tech antitrust litigation.
Pointing to Meta’s additions to Snapchat’s share price falling 20% in the wake of its launch of Stories, and to Instagram’s addition of Snapchat features, the company is arguing that the two products directly compete.
The trial follows two antitrust cases brought against Google.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg has personally lobbied President Trump to try to avoid the trial.
The case could result in Meta being broken up.
It could also lead to spun-off products and services like Instagram and WhatsApp becoming stand-alone apps and services, unrestricted by any Meta ecosystem locking them down to keep users on its services.