U.S. District Judge James Boasberg denied Meta’s request to drop the FTC’s case, though he did dismiss one portion of the lawsuit, and said he would hold a hearing later this month to discuss a trial date.
“In the end, while the parties’ legal jousting is both impressive and comprehensive, it leaves no clear victor. This case must go to trial. Under the forgiving summary-judgment standard, the FTC has put forward evidence sufficient for a reasonable factfinder to rule in its favor,” Boasberg wrote in his 92-page opinion.
The FTC sued Meta in 2020, alleging the social media giant has illegally maintained a monopoly on personal social networking through its acquisition of Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014.
The case has remained in pre-trial proceedings for multiple years. It was initially dismissed in 2021, but the FTC later filed an amended complaint.
Meta, which has denied the FTC’s monopoly allegations, said it would review the opinion when it’s filed.
“We are confident that the evidence at trial will show that the acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp have been good for competition and consumers,” a Meta spokesperson said in a statement.
“More than 10 years after the FTC reviewed and cleared these deals, and despite the overwhelming evidence that our services compete with YouTube, TikTok, X, Apple’s iMessage, and many others, the Commission is wrongly continuing to assert that no deal is ever truly final, and businesses can be punished for innovating.”
The FTC's case against Meta is one of several antitrust lawsuits brought by the commission and the Department of Justice's (DOJ) antitrust division over the past few years.
In 2020, the DOJ sued Google, accusing the tech giant of maintaining an illegal monopoly over online search. The agency brought a second antitrust suit against the company in 2023 over advertising technology.
The FTC also sued Amazon over its alleged anticompetitive practices in the online retail space in 2023, while the Justice Department filed suit against Apple in 2024, accusing the iPhone maker of monopolizing the smartphone market.
The Hill's Zach Schonfeld has more at TheHill.com
