A U.S. court has ruled that Meta does not have to sell its subsidiary apps WhatsApp and Instagram. According to the ruling, there is sufficient competition for Meta.
Meta wins its antitrust case against the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which was described in American media as a ‘blockbuster lawsuit’. The case aimed to force a divestiture of Instagram and WhatsApp through the court. That will not happen, as the competent judge ruled in Meta’s favor.
Mark Zuckerberg’s company paid approximately one billion dollars in 2012 to acquire Instagram, and two years later another sixteen billion dollars for messaging app WhatsApp. In combination with Facebook, the empire represents almost the entire world population, and today the platforms are worth many times what Meta originally paid for them.
After the acquisitions, the three sister platforms, with similar features and privacy policies, grew increasingly closer. This is an evolution that WhatsApp users, especially those with an appetite for privacy, do not always appreciate.
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No Monopoly
The FTC, the US federal agency responsible for market and consumer protection, wanted to retroactively put a stop to that. According to the agency, Meta has become too large in the social media market and should never have been allowed to acquire the subsidiary platforms.
The court disagrees with that. The competent judges looked at the current market situation and concluded that Meta is not a social media monopolist. With platforms like TikTok, which is drawing younger generations away from Facebook and Instagram, and YouTube, there is sufficient healthy competition in the market.
“Whether or not Meta had a monopoly position in the past, the FTC has not been able to demonstrate that it still holds that position today,” the verdict states.
Sore Loser
The FTC will not simply accept the ruling. Through the American media, the agency expresses its disappointment, and in true Trump style, a personal attack on competent judge James Boasberg was also launched. The spokesperson refers to an ongoing impeachment procedure against the judge as ‘proof’ that there was little objectivity.
It is the second time in a short period that the US government has failed in an antitrust case. Previously, Google also (partially) prevailed in its monopoly case. Google was informed that it may also retain control over its Chrome browser and Android.