FTC demands Meta to sell Instagram and WhatsApp

Meta✴ will face an antitrust lawsuit from the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which accused the company of stifling competition and securing a dominant position in the social networking market by purchasing Instagram✴ and WhatsApp. The court may force the company to sell its assets, The Verge reports.

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The FTC already filed a lawsuit against Meta✴ back in 2020, alleging that the company bought rivals Instagram✴ and WhatsApp in an attempt to stifle competition. D.C. District Court Judge James Boasberg initially dismissed the lawsuit in 2021, after which the federal agency filed an amended complaint and the case was reinstated. In the spring of 2023, Meta✴ again asked the court to dismiss the FTC’s lawsuit, but Boasberg ruled in favor of the FTC, although he rejected the claim that Meta✴ acted in bad faith by allowing developer access to its API under the terms of not competing with its applications .

Now the FTC will try to prove that Meta✴ acted in bad faith and that its purchases of Instagram✴ and WhartsApp harmed competition and consumers.

Meta✴ spokesman Christopher Sgro, in a statement to The Verge, expressed confidence that Meta✴ will prove in court that the acquisitions of Instagram✴ and WhatsApp were “beneficial” for users. “The FTC reviewed and approved these transactions more than 10 years ago, and despite ample evidence that our services compete fairly with YouTube, TikTok, X, Apple’s iMessage and many others, the commission continues to insist that the acquisition was illegal,” the commission said. Sgro.

Although the FTC antitrust lawsuit was filed during the presidency of Donald Trump, his administration is expected to take a softer stance on mergers and acquisitions, and Meta✴ CEO Mark Zuckerberg, along with other leaders major technology companies, has already begun to slowly “improve” relations with Trump, who is expected to remove FTC head Lina Khan from her post.