Meta Suspected of Illegally Buying Instagram and WhatsApp

Mark Zuckerberg’s timely acquisitions of Instagram✴ in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014 helped his empire reach billions of users. More than a decade later, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is preparing to challenge the deals, claiming they violated antitrust laws. The regulator believes the deals were illegal, should not have been approved, and should be separated from Meta✴’s core business.

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The lawsuit, according to Bloomberg, will be filed next Monday. The FTC claims that the Instagram✴ and WhatsApp deals were made to stifle competition, and that industry regulators erred in approving them. To support its arguments, the agency will argue that the overall quality of Meta✴ apps has declined, most notably in the increased amount of advertising and lower levels of privacy.

The FTC’s lawsuit against Meta✴, which will be heard by U.S. District Judge James Boasberg in Washington, poses an existential threat to Zuckerberg’s dominant position in the social media space. The case could result in the Meta✴ business being broken up, potentially resulting in the loss of some of the world’s most popular digital products. Given Meta✴’s $1.3 trillion market value and its reliance on Instagram✴ advertising revenue, a breakup could result in hundreds of billions of dollars in lost market value.

The trial will feature multiple witnesses, including Meta✴ executives including Zuckerberg and former COO Sheryl Sandberg. Meta✴ has previously expressed confidence in its ability to present evidence that “its acquisitions of Instagram✴ and WhatsApp were good for competition and consumers.” The company has also expressed dissatisfaction with the FTC’s scrutiny of deals that were made more than a decade ago.

According to the source, Zuckerberg personally asked US President Donald Trump to settle the disagreement with the FTC. However, at this stage, the American president is unlikely to intervene in this case. According to the source, a more likely scenario is that Trump will intervene in the case at the appellate stage and put pressure on the FTC commission members to force them to agree with Meta✴. At the same time, it is quite likely that the consideration of this case will drag on for years.