FTC Loses Bid to Break Up Meta After Court Rules Against Antitrust Claims

US District Judge James Boasberg found that the Federal Trade Commission failed to demonstrate that the acquisitions enabled Meta to unlawfully monopolize the social-networking market. The ruling marks a major setback for the federal government, which first brought the case in 2020. Per Bloomberg, the lawsuit was seen as a critical test of the government’s ability to rein in the power of dominant tech platforms.

In his decision, Boasberg wrote that the FTC had not sufficiently defined the market or shown that Meta maintained monopoly power. “With apps surging and receding, chasing one craze and moving on from others, and adding new features with each passing year, the FTC has understandably struggled to fix the boundaries of Meta’s product market,” he said. “Whether or not Meta enjoyed monopoly power in the past, though, the agency must show that it continues to hold such power now. The Court’s verdict today determines that the FTC has not done so.”

Read more: Internal Meta Documents Spotlight Regulatory Void Around Fraudulent Social Media Ads

The ruling followed a seven-week trial that began in April and included testimony from senior Meta leaders such as founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, as well as former chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg. The FTC argued that Meta—then Facebook—acquired Instagram and WhatsApp in 2012 and 2014 to avoid competing with them, allegedly preserving its hold over social networking among friends and family.

Meta countered by emphasizing a broader competitive landscape that includes short-form video platforms, private messaging services, and social hubs that compete for user engagement and advertising dollars. Executives from TikTok, Reddit, Pinterest, and X were called to illustrate the range of alternatives available to consumers, according to Bloomberg.

The decision reverberated quickly through financial markets, with Meta’s stock recovering part of its earlier decline. Shares were down 1.1% at $595.22 shortly before 1 p.m. in New York. The company did not immediately comment on the ruling.

The case is one of several major antitrust actions targeting leading technology firms. Federal judges have already ruled that Google illegally monopolized online search and digital advertising, while ongoing cases against Amazon and Apple continue to move through the courts.

Source: Bloomberg