Meta will have to defend itself against antitrust claims after all

The Federal Trade Commission will have a chance to argue its case for the Meta split in court. On Wednesday, US District Judge James Boasberg allowed the FTC’s lawsuit against the social media giant to go forward (PDF link). The FTC began suing Meta in 2020 trying to force the company, then known as Facebook, to separate itself from Instagram and WhatsApp. Along with a number of senior lawyers, the organization alleges that Meta acquired the platforms in 2012 and 2014 to prevent growing competition in the telecommunications market.

This past April, Meta asked Judge Boasberg to dismiss the case. In addition to noting that the FTC had approved the purchase of both, Meta said that the agency failed to demonstrate that the company held market power for social media services, and that, in buying Instagram and WhatsApp, it harmed consumers. Additionally, the company said it has invested billions of dollars in both platforms and made them better as a result, to the benefit of social media users everywhere.

While not dismissing the case entirely, Boasberg forced the FTC to reduce its case, dismissing allegations that Facebook gave exclusive access to developers who agreed not to compete with it.

“We are confident that the evidence in the case will show that the purchase of Instagram and WhatsApp has been good for competition and consumers. More than 10 years after the FTC reviewed and cleared these agreements, and despite overwhelming evidence that our services compete with YouTube, TikTok, iX, Apple’s iMessage, and many others, the Commission continues to err asserting that no agreement will ever be a true conclusion. , and businesses can be penalized for innovating,” a Meta spokesperson told Engadget. “We will review the opinion once it has been submitted.”

Judge Boasberg will meet with both sides on November 25 to schedule a trial. The FTC case, it should be noted, was filed under the previous Trump administration, although whether it moves forward and in what way will depend on who President-elect Trump appoints to lead the agency.