Meta wins antitrust case, avoids selling Instagram and WhatsApp

(CLO) A ruling from a US federal judge on November 18 affirmed that Meta does not have a monopoly on the social networking market.

This is considered an important legal victory for Meta. The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) had previously asked Meta to restructure or sell the two platforms Instagram and WhatsApp, arguing that the corporation had spent billions of dollars to acquire potential competitors, eliminating competition.

The case stems from Facebook's (now Meta) acquisitions of Instagram for $1 billion in 2012 and WhatsApp for $19 billion in 2014. Notably, the FTC did not attempt to block either acquisition at the time, but only sued Meta in 2020 for antitrust violations.

At trial, the FTC also cited internal Meta emails, including a 2008 email from CEO Mark Zuckerberg writing that “acquisitions are better than competition.”

Meta wins major victory against FTC.

However, federal judge James Boasberg argued that the rise of TikTok and YouTube had made Meta less dominant in the social media market. He also noted that Meta's applications and the social media landscape had changed since the FTC filed its lawsuit, most recently due to the emergence of content generated by Artificial Intelligence (AI), which undermined the agency's arguments.

Judge Boasberg's ruling argued that Meta's apps account for only a "modest share" of total time spent in the social media market - which includes Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, MeWe, TikTok and YouTube - and that this share is declining. He added that "even excluding YouTube (from the relevant market), Meta does not have a monopoly position."

“Today’s Court decision recognizes that Meta faces fierce competition. Our products benefit consumers and businesses, and are a testament to American innovation and economic growth,” Jennifer Newstead, Meta’s Chief Legal Officer, said in a statement.

In stark contrast, FTC spokesman Joe Simonson said: “We are extremely disappointed with this ruling,” and revealed that the agency is considering all options going forward.

The ruling also marks a victory for Silicon Valley as US regulators increasingly seek to curb the power of Big Tech.

Google has recently been declared a monopoly in two separate lawsuits related to its search engine and online advertising business. Apple and Amazon are also facing antitrust lawsuits brought by the US government.

Source: https://congluan.vn/meta-thang-kien-vu-an-chong-doc-quyen-khong-phai-ban-instagram-va-whatsapp-10318345.html