Meta Faces Historic Breakup Threat as FTC Antitrust Battle Nears Ruling

One of the most important antitrust cases of the decade, Federal Trade Commission v. Meta Platforms, has finally come to a close after six nail-biting weeks of trial.

Judge James E. Boasberg now holds in his hands the fate of this case that can change the landscape of the tech industry.

Meta's Monopoly Accusations Shake Silicon Valley

Meta Faces Historic Breakup Threat as FTC Antitrust Battle Nears

At the heart of the lawsuit is the allegation that Meta, Facebook's parent firm, violated antitrust law when it acquired Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014 to snuff out budding rivals rather than compete fairly. While the deals were cleared by regulators at the time, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is seeking to unwind them on the basis that they were part of a long-term monopoly strategy, according to The New York Times.

Government prosecutors depended most strongly on internal company memos and emails. The reports indicate Meta executives, including CEO Mark Zuckerberg, have discussed how acquiring emerging competitors would help to keep the company in the lead of social networking.

How to Define Social Media Market Competition

One of the important issues in the case tackles the "relevant market," another common fulcrum of antitrust actions. The FTC argues that Meta is monopolistic with regard to apps specifically geared toward social interaction, such as Snapchat.

Meta's counter is to broaden the vision, claiming it faces stiff competition from TikTok, YouTube, and even smaller platforms such as MeWe.

This courthouse battle of lawyering over market definition can decide the fate. If Judge Boasberg adopts the narrow definition advocated by the FTC, Meta can be forced to divest Instagram and WhatsApp. If he joins the broader definition adopted by Meta, the case will collapse, causing severe harm to future Big Tech regulation, The Verge's Nilay Patel reported via 9to5Mac.

A Historic Ruling on the Way

This is the biggest tech antitrust trial since the government prosecuted Microsoft in the 1990s. The Microsoft trial led to far-reaching changes in its business but did not break up the firm outright. A loss for Meta, however, would set an even stronger precedent by actually forcing the company to spin off two of its most profitable platforms.

Judge Boasberg has acknowledged the historic nature of his decision and promised a ruling "expeditiously." Regardless of the outcome, legal experts anticipate an appeal by the disappointed party — in short, this courtroom battle is just beginning.

In the past year, Meta has been caught in the cobweb of antitrust cases. Italy fined the company more than $5 million for unfair commercial practices.

Meanwhile, South Korea fined Meta almost $16 million for misusing the sensitive information of nearly one million Facebook users.