The antitrust case against the company must be dismissed before trial. It joins 48 states and territories in an attempt to force the company to divest Instagram and WhatsApp, which it acquired in 2012 and 2014 respectively.
The agency and dozens of attorneys general claimed that Meta, then known as Facebook, purchased the two platforms to stifle competition. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg “realized that by acquiring and controlling Instagram, Facebook could not only neutralize the direct threat posed by Instagram, but also significantly hinder another company from exploiting photo sharing on mobile phones. Personal social network providers are welcome,” the FTC asserted. “Like Instagram, WhatsApp poses a powerful threat to Facebook’s monopoly on personal social networking, and Facebook aims to acquire rather than compete.”
Meta notes that not only did the FTC approve both acquisitions in the first place, but its original complaint was dismissed for failing to state a reasonable claim. While the judge allowed the amended complaint to move forward, Meta asserted that “the agency has taken no steps to establish a case through the discovery process” to show that the company has monopoly power in the market for “personal social networking services” and that it has power over consumers through its purchases and competition causing harm.
The company noted in its motion for summary judgment that Instagram, which accounts for nearly 30% of the company’s total revenue, did not make any money when it acquired the service for $1 billion in 2012. Instagram accounts for only 2% of the company’s total revenue. Meta said it did not make any money from the service. Instagram accounts for only 2% of the company’s total revenue. Meta said it did not make any money from the service. Instagram accounts for only 2% of the company’s total revenue. The company now has more than 1 billion users, Meta said, adding that it launched features such as private messaging, live streaming, stories and shopping. As for WhatsApp, Meta made the service free to use, added end-to-end encryption and enabled voice and video calling.
Meta says it has invested billions of dollars and millions of hours of work on these apps. The company claims that both Instagram and WhatsApp are in a better position as a result, benefiting consumers and businesses alike.
Elsewhere, Meta argued that the FTC failed to establish a relevant antitrust market, claiming that the agency’s definition of the “personal social networking services” market used an “artificial limit of just four companies — Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and MeWe — —ignores many of the most popular activities people do on Facebook and Instagram.” For example, Meta noted that YouTube and TikTok offer similar services to Reels.
Additionally, the FTC’s allegation that Meta has a “dominant share” of the market for artificial “personal social networking services” is not true, according to the company. Mehta said that’s because the FTC’s “market share data is meaningless without a properly defined market.”
Meta accused the FTC of exercising “structurally unconstitutional authority” over the company and used the opportunity to add more criticism to the agency and antitrust rules. Jennifer Newstead, Meta’s chief legal officer, said: “The decision to revisit a completed transaction amounts to an announcement that any sale will not be final.” Newstead claimed that Instagram and WhatsApp’s “lawsuits not only challenge the U.S. government’s merger review process but also It creates doubt and uncertainty about whether acquiring companies can truly rely on the outcome of the regulatory review process, and it can also make companies think twice about investing in innovation because they may be penalized if the innovation leads to success.”
