Meta wants FTC's monopoly lawsuit thrown out—Here's why
What's the story
Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook, has asked a federal judge to dismiss an antitrust lawsuit filed by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The FTC alleges that Meta has been keeping an illegal monopoly in the social media space. The trial started on April 14 in Washington and is likely to run into June.
Legal battle
FTC's allegations and Meta's defense
The FTC seeks to prove that Meta, formerly Facebook, illegally monopolized the social media space by purchasing Instagram and WhatsApp. The commission wants to undo the acquisitions made over a decade ago. In its defense, Meta has submitted evidence in the trial that WhatsApp had no plans to evolve into a Facebook rival social network, which Zuckerberg knew before closing the deal. The tech giant also said that Instagram grew after the acquisition.
Counterclaims
Meta's argument against FTC's case
Meta argues that the FTC has failed to prove a meaningful difference between alleged friends-and-family sharing apps such as Snapchat, Instagram, and Facebook, and TikTok. The company argues that it has been forced to imitate TikTok to stay alive. This argument comes in response to the FTC's claim that platforms where users share content with strangers based on shared interests, such as X/Twitter, YouTube, Reddit, and TikTok, are not interchangeable.
Future proceedings
Next steps in the legal proceedings
If Judge James Boasberg doesn't agree to Meta's plea to dismiss the case, both Meta and the FTC are expected to file final briefs and give closing arguments after Meta has presented all evidence. If the judge finds that Meta has an illegal monopoly, a second trial will be held to decide how to deal with it.