Meta has emerged victorious in a significant legal battle that posed a major risk to its structure. On Tuesday, a U.S. federal judge delivered a ruling supporting the social media firm, determining that the Federal Trade Commission failed to demonstrate Meta's status as a monopolistic entity.
The antitrust lawsuit originated in 2020 when the FTC targeted Meta, at the time called Facebook, amid Donald Trump's initial presidency. Authorities contended that the firm's purchases of former competitors Instagram and WhatsApp damaged American users by reducing rivalry within social networking. In response, Meta maintained that its financial support enabled those platforms to expand into apps with over 1 billion users each and pointed to TikTok's emergence as evidence of ongoing intense rivalry.
U.S. District Judge James Boasberg issued the decision favoring Meta. In his opinion, he stated, 'Whether or not Meta enjoyed monopoly power in the past, though, the agency must show that it continues to hold such power now.' He added, 'The Court’s verdict today determines that the FTC has not done so.'
A win for the FTC might have led to mandates reversing Meta's ownership of WhatsApp and Instagram. 'We are deeply disappointed in this decision,' remarked Joe Simonson, the FTC’s public affairs director, via a prepared release. 'The deck was always stacked against us with Judge Boasberg, who is currently facing articles of impeachment. We are reviewing all our options.' An appeal remains possible for the FTC, although its intentions are uncertain.
A Meta representative commented, 'The Court's decision today recognizes that Meta faces fierce competition. Our products are beneficial for people and businesses and exemplify American innovation and economic growth. We look forward to continuing to partner with the Administration and to invest in America.'
Several prominent current and past leaders, such as Adam Mosseri, Sheryl Sandberg, Kevin Systrom, and Mark Zuckerberg, provided testimony over the extended trial proceedings this year. Zuckerberg highlighted the substantial competitive strain from TikTok during his appearance, noting that Meta's expansion had 'slowed down dramatically' amid the platform's increasing appeal.
Meta's argument emphasizing TikTok and YouTube as key rivals proved persuasive to Judge Boasberg. FTC attorneys had asserted a monopoly in the category of 'personal social networking' applications, encompassing options like Snapchat and the distributed service MeWe. However, the judge could not discount the influence of TikTok and YouTube. He observed, 'PSN [personal social networking] apps may have been a market unto themselves when the FTC filed this case in 2020 or when it approved Facebook’s acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp in 2012 and 2014. That is no longer the case. The Court ultimately finds that YouTube and TikTok belong in the product market, and they prevent Meta from holding a monopoly. Even if YouTube is out, including TikTok alone defeats the FTC’s case.'