Meta faces historic antitrust trial that could force it to break off Instagram, WhatsApp

A significant antitrust trial awaits Meta Platforms Inc. starting on Monday, setting the stage for the tech giant possibly needing to divest Instagram and WhatsApp, two successful startups it purchased over ten years ago that have since flourished as social media behemoths.

This forthcoming antitrust trial represents a critical examination of President Donald Trump’s Federal Trade Commission’s capability to confront major players in the technology industry. The lawsuit targeted Meta, formerly known as Facebook, in 2020, during Trump’s initial presidential term. According to the lawsuit, the company’s acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp were allegedly aimed at stifling competition and establishing an unlawful monopoly within the sphere of social media.

The FTC asserts that Meta has upheld its monopoly position by adhering to CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s directive, as stated back in 2008: “It is better to buy than compete.” In alignment with this philosophy, Facebook has consistently monitored potential competitors and procured companies deemed as significant threats to its competitive stance.

Facebook also enacted policies designed to make it difficult for smaller rivals to enter the market and “neutralize perceived competitive threats,” the FTC says in its complaint, just as the world shifted its attention to mobile devices from desktop computers.

“Unable to maintain its monopoly by fairly competing, the company’s executives addressed the existential threat by buying up new innovators that were succeeding where Facebook failed,” the FTC says.

Facebook bought Instagram – then a scrappy photo-sharing app with no ads and a small cult following – in 2012. The $1 billion cash and stock purchase price was eye-popping at the time, though the deal’s value fell to $750 million after Facebook’s stock price dipped following its initial public offering in May 2012.

Instagram was the first company Facebook bought and kept running as a separate app. Up until then, Facebook was known for smaller “acqui-hires” – a type of popular Silicon Valley deal in which a company purchases a startup as a way to hire its talented workers, then shuts the acquired company down. Two years later, it did it again with the messaging app WhatsApp, which it purchased for $22 billion.

WhatsApp and Instagram helped Facebook move its business from desktop computers to mobile devices, and to remain popular with younger generations as rivals like Snapchat (which it also tried, but failed, to buy) and TikTok emerged. However, the FTC has a narrow definition of Meta’s competitive market, excluding companies like TikTok, YouTube and Apple’s messaging service from being considered rivals to Instagram and WhatsApp.

“The FTC already has the difficult task, whether it’s looking at 10 years ago or five years ago or today, of trying to define what is the market we’re talking about in a sufficiently narrow way that it can show Meta has a ton of power in that market,” said Paul Swanson, an antitrust attorney for the law firm Holland & Hart. “And I do think that challenge has gotten harder as the years have gone by and we see more and more potential competitors in social media spaces.”

Meta, meanwhile, says the FTC’s lawsuit “defies reality.”

“The evidence at trial will show what every 17-year-old in the world knows: Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp compete with Chinese-owned TikTok, YouTube, X, iMessage and many others. More than 10 years after the FTC reviewed and cleared our acquisitions, the Commission’s action in this case sends the message that no deal is ever truly final. Regulators should be supporting American innovation, rather than seeking to break up a great American company and further advantaging China on critical issues like AI,” the company said in a statement.

In a filing last week, Meta also stressed that the FTC “must prove that Meta has monopoly power in its claimed relevant market now, not at some time in the past.” This, experts say, could also prove challenging since more competitors have emerged in the social media space in the years since the company bought WhatsApp and Instagram.

Meta’s fate will be decided by U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, who late last year denied Meta’s request for a summary judgment and ruled that the case must go to trial.

Boasberg “seems to be skeptical” of the FTC’s narrow market definition in his rulings to date, Swanson said. He added that the judge also said it is a “fact question,” which means he is open to hearing what the FTC and its experts have to say to define that narrow market.

While the FTC may face an uphill battle in proving its case, the stakes are high for Meta, whose advertising business could be cut in half if it’s forced to spin off Instagram.

“Instagram is now Meta’s biggest money maker in the U.S., its most lucrative market, where the app accounts for 50.5% of the company’s ad revenues in 2025. Instagram has also been picking up the slack for Facebook on the user front, particularly among young people, for a long time,” said Emarketer analyst Jasmine Enberg. “The trial also comes as Meta is trying to bring back OG Facebook in an effort to appeal to Gen Z and younger users as they join social media. Social media usage is far more fragmented today than it was in 2012 when Facebook acquired Instagram, and Facebook isn’t where the cool college kids hang out anymore. Meta needs Instagram to continue growing, especially as more advertisers think Instagram-first with their Meta budgets.”

But Meta isn’t the only technology company in the sights of federal antitrust regulators, Google and Amazon face their own cases. The remedy phase of Google’s case is scheduled to begin on April 21. A federal judge declared the search giant an illegal monopoly last August.

“A big theme here is we are applying 19th-century laws to 21st-century markets. And I think it’s an open question whether the judgment developments to antitrust law can keep up with markets as they are changing – these fluid and dynamic tech markets in particular,” Swanson said. “And this will be a case that speaks directly to that.”

Copyright © 2025 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

You May Also Like
Urgent nationwide recall for 1.8m eye drops that could make you go BLIND

Immediate recall issued for 1.8 million eye drops due to potential risk of blindness

More than 1.8 million cartons of eye drops have been recalled nationwide…
Experts issue urgent warning after discovering 28 major US cities are SINKING... is your hometown at risk?

Warning Issued by Experts as 28 Large US Cities Found to be Sinking… Is Your City in Danger?

Scientists have discovered that the 28 most populous cities in the US…
Crisis for Tom Cruise and Ana de Armas? Friends say Hollywood's worst-kept secret has created intimate impasse in love affair

Trouble in Paradise for Tom Cruise and Ana de Armas? Friends reveal that the rumored romantic relationship is facing a major obstacle.

Tom Cruise, Hollywood’s renowned actor at 62, has recently been romantically linked…
Has ‘Doctor Odyssey’ Been Renewed Yet? How To Watch Part 1 Of The Two-Part Season Finale

Is ‘Doctor Odyssey’ Returning for Another Season? Where to Watch the First Part of the Season Finale

A tsunami? Sure, why not! How else could we end the first…
John Fetterman threw wild outburst during union meeting amid growing concerns over health issues

John Fetterman had a heated outburst at a union meeting while health issues continued to be a worry.

During a recent meeting with a teachers’ union, John Fetterman’s outburst led…
US northern border agents capture Chinese alien, surge of illegal immigrants as arrests soar in one state

Border authorities in the northern United States apprehend a Chinese immigrant, and an increase in illegal immigrant arrests is reported in a particular state.

Following President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigrant crossings at the U.S.…
Living Nostradamus who predicted COVID-19 dishes on Justin Bieber's future in music and his marriage to Hailey

Nostradamus’ Predictions: COVID-19 & Justin Bieber’s Music Career and Marriage with Hailey

A psychic who successfully foresaw dozens of global events in 2024 has…
Chicago faith leaders react to Pope Leo XIV's impact on other religions, including Father Michael Pfleger

Chicago religious leaders respond to the influence of Pope Leo XIV on various faiths, featuring Father Michael Pfleger

CHICAGO (WLS) — When a new pope is elected, it is not…
Thursday Morning Minute: The Two Faces of Liz

Understanding Liz: Exploring Different Sides

TOP O’ THE MORNIN’ Red-Hot at RedState  Some individuals are eager to…
Young kangaroo hops around Florida town after brazen escape, owner charged

Florida town shocked as young kangaroo escapes and hops around, owner faces charges

An unruly kangaroo that escaped from a private owner’s enclosure in Saint…
Mostly women arrested in Columbia University library takeover: NYPD

“Columbia University Library Takeover Leads to Arrest of Mostly Women: NYPD”

61 females were taken into custody by the New York Police Department…
Bryan Kohberger hearing today: The latest pretrial developments in Idaho college murders case

Bryan Kohberger’s court appearance today: New updates before trial in Idaho university murder case

MOSCOW, Idaho — A judge has ruled that prosecutors can maintain a…