Meta Wins Antitrust Case As Judge Upholds Instagram And WhatsApp Acquisitions

• Judge James Boasberg said FTC has argued that Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and minor player MeWe compete only with one another in a market that the agency calls “personal social networking.”
• The judge noted the FTC must show that Meta continues to hold such power, rather than comparing it to the past.
• The Court said it ultimately concludes that the agency has not carried its burden and Meta holds no monopoly in the relevant market.

Facebook owner Meta Platforms (META) on Tuesday scored a legal victory regarding its acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp, with a U.S. federal judge ruling that the company did not breach antitrust laws in a lawsuit brought in by the Federal Trade Commission.

“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,” stated U.S. District of Columbia Judge James Boasberg.

“Even so, it continues to insist that Meta competes with the same old rivals it has for the last decade, that the company holds a monopoly among that small set, and that it maintained that monopoly through anticompetitive acquisitions,” Boasberg added.

He noted that the FTC must show that Meta continues to hold such power, rather than comparing it to the past. Meta was sued by the FTC in 2020 for antitrust concerns related to its acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp. 

“The Court’s verdict today determines that the FTC has not done so,” said Boasberg in a court filing.

FTC’s Argument

In the filing, the judge noted that FTC has argued that Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and minor player MeWe compete only with one another in a market that the agency calls “personal social networking” (PSN).

The FTC claimed that Meta holds a monopoly in this market and is faced with challenges to its dominance, and preserved its monopoly not by outcompeting its upstart rivals Instagram and WhatsApp, “but by buying them.”

Court’s Ruling

The filing noted that in the fifth year of litigation, the Court held a lengthy bench trial, hearing from numerous witnesses throughout the industry, as well as from opposing sets of experts.

“As it has forecast in prior Opinions over the years, the FTC has an uphill battle to establish the contours of any separate PSN market and Defendant’s monopoly therein,” the filing read.

“The Court ultimately concludes that the agency has not carried its burden: Meta holds no monopoly in the relevant market,” it added.

Retail sentiment on Meta remained unchanged in the ‘neutral’ territory, with message volumes at ‘normal’ levels, according to data from Stocktwits.

Shares of Meta have gained 6.5% in the last 12 months. 

For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.

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