Meta Faces Landmark Trial

Meta, the parent company of Facebook, is facing a landmark antitrust trial in a Washington federal court, accused of abusing its market power to acquire Instagram and WhatsApp.

The trial, which is expected to last at least eight weeks, could force Meta to divest its ownership of the two popular apps.

The lawsuit, filed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in December 2020, alleges that Meta’s acquisitions of Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014 were strategic moves to eliminate potential competitors.

An email from Mark Zuckerberg, Meta’s CEO, cited by the FTC, described Instagram’s emergence as “really scary,” and noted that paying a lot of money for the app might be necessary.

The FTC argues that Meta’s monopoly power is demonstrated by a degraded user experience, with excessive ads and product changes that users cannot avoid. Meta’s defense team, however, will argue that the company’s substantial investments transformed these acquisitions into successful platforms.

They will also highlight that Meta’s apps are free and face intense competition from other social media platforms.

Zuckerberg has made repeated visits to the White House in an attempt to persuade the US leader to consider a settlement instead of pursuing the trial. However, FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson played down the possibility of a settlement, stating, “I’d be very surprised if anything like that ever happened.”

Jonathan Kanter, an antitrust enforcer under the Biden administration, also said, “It would be borderline scandalous if Zuckerberg went to the White House and wound up with a settlement.”

The trial will feature testimony from Zuckerberg, his former lieutenant Sheryl Sandberg, and executives from rival companies.

This case is one of five major tech antitrust actions recently initiated by the US government, with Google facing two cases, and Apple and Amazon also heading to court.