Meta urges judge to dismiss FTC monopoly case over Instagram, WhatsApp deals
The FTC’s lawsuit, which has been on trial since April 14, accuses Meta of buying Instagram and WhatsApp to crush competition.
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Meta, the company behind Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, has asked a U.S. judge to throw out a major antitrust case brought by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), arguing that the agency has failed to prove that Meta holds an illegal monopoly in social media, Reuters reported.
As per the media report, the FTC’s lawsuit, which has been on trial since April 14, accuses Meta of buying Instagram and WhatsApp to crush competition. The government wants the court to undo those acquisitions, saying Meta bought the apps to stop them from becoming threats.
But Meta told the court on Thursday that the FTC’s arguments don’t hold up. The company said WhatsApp was never meant to be a social network like Facebook and CEO Mark Zuckerberg knew that even before the deal. Meta also argued that Instagram actually grew and improved after the acquisition.
Meta is hoping the judge, James Boasberg, agrees to end the case early based on the evidence so far. If not, the trial will continue and could last into June. The judge could then decide whether Meta broke the law by maintaining a monopoly. If that happens, a second trial would follow to decide what action should be taken.
Meta also pushed back on the FTC’s attempt to define a narrow market of friends-and-family sharing platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat, excluding apps like TikTok, YouTube, or Reddit. Meta said that all of these platforms compete for users’ attention by showing the most engaging content.
