FTC Antitrust Trial Could Force Meta to Divest Instagram and WhatsApp Acquired for $20 Billion

44 posts • GPT (4o)

Updated Apr 14, 2025, 09:00 AM

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has initiated an antitrust trial against Meta, alleging that its acquisitions of Instagram in 2012 for $1 billion and WhatsApp in 2014 for $19 billion were aimed at eliminating competition and securing a monopoly in the social media market. The trial is expected to last eight weeks. The FTC argues that Meta's strategy of 'buy or bury' targeted competitive threats, as evidenced by internal emails from CEO Mark Zuckerberg, including one stating it was 'better to buy than to compete.' The agency seeks remedies that could include forcing Meta to divest Instagram and WhatsApp. The FTC also claims that Meta's dominance has led to quality degradation for users, with excessive advertisements and abrupt changes. Meta defends its actions, claiming the acquisitions improved user experience and competition, and highlights that the FTC initially approved the deals. The company also points to competitors such as TikTok and YouTube to argue that the social media market remains competitive. Instagram, which now has 2 billion users, and WhatsApp are central to Meta's business strategy. The case, filed in 2020 during Donald Trump's first administration, has faced political and legal challenges. Meta's close ties with Trump, including lobbying efforts and policy changes, have drawn scrutiny as the trial unfolds. Testimonies from Mark Zuckerberg, former COO Sheryl Sandberg, and Instagram head Adam Mosseri are expected during the proceedings.

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#Federal Trade Commission #FTC #Meta #Instagram #WhatsApp #Mark Zuckerberg #TikTok #YouTube #Donald Trump #Trump #Sheryl Sandberg #Adam Mosseri

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Sources

france24.com(3)faz.net(2)bbc.com(2)l.lefigaro.fr(2)

chrisdannen

@realchrisdannen

cheat sheet on the $META FTC trial today It's about AI slop. The government is arguing that the poor quality of content on Meta platforms is evidence that their purchases of Insta and Whatsapp were motivated by anti-competitive tactics (and not desire for the targets' IP)

Frankfurter Allgemeine

@faznet

Has the Facebook Group abused its market power when buying Instagram and WhatsApp? Starting this week, this question is to be resolved in court in a highly publicized antitrust case. https://t.co/7iYnvtPewj

BBC News (UK)

@BBCNews

Landmark antitrust trial could force Zuckerberg to sell Instagram https://t.co/KWf0oDITkQ