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States Join Fight to Revive FTC’s Meta Monopoly Case

By  |  June 1, 2026
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A coalition of state attorneys general is throwing its support behind the Federal Trade Commission’s effort to revive its antitrust case against Meta, escalating a years-long legal battle that could shape the future of competition enforcement in the technology sector.

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    The states filed a friend-of-the-court brief supporting the FTC’s appeal of a federal court decision that rejected claims Meta illegally maintained monopoly power through its acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp. The filing was first reported by Law360.

    The dispute stems from a landmark antitrust lawsuit filed in 2020, when federal and state regulators accused Meta—then operating as Facebook—of buying emerging rivals rather than competing against them. Regulators argued that Instagram and WhatsApp posed significant threats to Facebook’s dominance and that the acquisitions helped cement the company’s position in social networking.

    In November 2025, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg ruled in Meta’s favor, finding that the FTC failed to prove the company currently holds monopoly power in a market for “personal social networking services.” The judge concluded that platforms such as TikTok and YouTube have become major competitors, weakening the government’s monopoly claims.

    The FTC appealed the decision earlier this year, arguing that the court placed too much emphasis on today’s competitive landscape and not enough on whether Meta’s past conduct unlawfully preserved its market position. FTC officials maintain that the company’s purchases of Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014 eliminated competitive threats that might otherwise have challenged Facebook’s dominance.

    Related: FTC Moves to Appeal Meta Antitrust Ruling Over Instagram and WhatsApp Acquisitions

    The states backing the appeal warned that allowing the lower court ruling to stand could make it harder for antitrust enforcers to challenge dominant digital platforms. Their brief argues that modern technology markets often evolve quickly and that courts should not set legal standards that effectively shield large companies from scrutiny simply because markets change over time.

    Meta has defended both acquisitions and welcomed the district court’s ruling. The company has argued that social media users now have numerous alternatives for sharing content and connecting online, pointing to competition from TikTok, YouTube, Snapchat and other platforms. Following the FTC’s appeal announcement in January, Meta said the court correctly recognized the intense competition it faces in the marketplace.

    The appeal arrives as antitrust regulators continue pursuing some of the largest technology companies in the world. Federal authorities have recently secured victories against Google in separate cases involving search and digital advertising markets, while lawmakers and regulators continue debating whether existing competition laws are equipped to address the power of major digital platforms.

    Legal analysts say the outcome could influence how future antitrust cases are evaluated, particularly those involving acquisitions completed years before regulators challenge them. A ruling for the FTC could strengthen efforts to revisit past mergers, while a victory for Meta would reinforce the hurdles regulators face when attempting to prove monopoly power in rapidly changing technology markets.

    Source: Law360