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Technology|U.S. Prepares to Challenge Meta’s Social Media Dominance
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/13/technology/meta-ftc-trial-whatsapp-instagram.html
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On Monday, Meta will face off against the federal government in a landmark antitrust trial over claims that it illegally squashed competition by buying Instagram and WhatsApp.
By Cecilia Kang
Cecilia Kang, who reports on tech policy, has covered Facebook since it was created in 2004.
April 13, 2025, 5:00 a.m. ET
Soon after Mark Zuckerberg co-founded Facebook in his Harvard dorm room in 2004, the social network skyrocketed in popularity. Roughly a decade later, the company experienced another round of explosive growth after buying its smaller rivals Instagram and WhatsApp, cementing its place in social media.
On Monday, Judge James Boasberg of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia will begin considering a landmark monopoly case involving the company — now called Meta — that hinges on a novel legal question: Did it break the law to stay dominant by acquiring the start-ups that stood in its way?
The case — Federal Trade Commission v. Meta Platforms — will for the first time try to stretch theories of U.S. antitrust law to include what regulators are calling a “buy or bury” strategy. Meta broke the law by acquiring nascent competitors to maintain its monopoly in social networking, the F.T.C. argues. Regulators are seeking to force Meta to divest Instagram and WhatsApp.
Meta has countered that it faces ample competition in social media from TikTok, Snap, Reddit and LinkedIn, and that regulators approved the acquisitions at the time. The company also hasn’t given up on settling the case: Early this month, Mr. Zuckerberg was at the White House to try to persuade the Trump administration to avert a trial.
The outcome of what is expected to be a multiweek trial, the first major tech case prosecuted by the Trump administration, could reshape the U.S. antitrust landscape as companies face intense scrutiny over mergers and acquisitions. A government victory could also have ripple effects for Silicon Valley, where start-ups bank on lucrative acquisitions by bigger companies for payouts.
Still, the F.T.C. faces an uphill battle to prove its case, legal experts said. The government’s legal argument hinges on showing that Meta would not be as dominant, and would not have stayed as dominant, if it hadn’t acquired Instagram and WhatsApp — a hypothetical situation that is difficult to prove because many factors have played into the company’s growth.
