Meta could undo its acquisitions of WhatsApp and Instagram after it was announced that the company and the US Federal Trade Commission are heading into a legal battle with high stakes on April 14. According to many, the trial will be the first test as to how the Trump administration seeks to handle antitrust relating to large tech firms. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has also reportedly lobbied the White House, meeting Trump several times over the last few days.
While there has been no confirmation about the points of discussion, there is speculation that Meta is exploring settlement options to avoid a trial. If there is no agreement between them, the case will move forward, featuring not just Zuckerberg, but former Meta chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg and executives from rival platforms TikTok, Snap, and Google’s YouTube on the witness stand.
The new FTC chair, Andrew Ferguson, is a Trump appointee who already mentioned that he intends to continue the agency’s aggressive approach toward big tech firms. He noted that large digital platforms encroach on personal freedoms and has promised that the “Trump-Vance FTC will never back down from taking on Big Tech.”
FTC accuses Meta of stifling competition
The trial is an extension from a case first filed by the FTC more than four years ago, accusing Facebook of maintaining an unlawful monopoly. During Trump’s first term, the agency claimed the company had subdued emerging competition by buying Instagram for $1 billion in 2012 and WhatsApp for $19 billion in 2014. According to the regulator, the deals stifled rivals rather than improving user experience, with the FTC also asking that the purchases be reversed. Meta countered that it expanded these platforms instead of killing them, pointing to TikTok’s fame as evidence of strong competition.
Former head of the Department of Justice’s antitrust division, Bill Baer mentioned that the lawsuit has “significance both as it relates to these Meta acquisitions and to the broader principle of deterring dominant firms from gobbling up [budding rivals and employing] a Pac-Man defense.” The FTC alleged that Meta adopted a “systemic strategy” by either buying or burying potential challengers, cutting off services to companies that posed any risk to Meta’s market power.
Silicon Valley had hoped that the emergence of Trump as president will make mergers easier, but this trial might show that things could go the opposite way. Ferguson’s approach follows the antitrust crackdown championed by officials appointed by former US president Joe Biden, including Lina Khan, who previously led the FTC, and Jonathan Kanter, once the head of the Department of Justice’s antitrust division.
During the period, regulators were awarded big wins, including the federal ruling that Google held an illegal monopoly in online search. They also managed to move the Meta lawsuit to trial after an initial dismissal. Nevertheless, the FTC under Biden appointees took a hit when it could not prevent Meta from buying virtual reality company Within, nor could it stop Microsoft from purchasing Activision Blizzard, a major game developer.
If the court decides that Meta violated antitrust laws, there would be a second phase to determine remedies. It could include breaking up certain assets, an option that many believe the FTC will be pursuing. However, a former senior antitrust official has voiced concerns that political motives might influence the outcome, stating it is “hard not to worry about whether” this process will “follow the rule of law rather than rule by law,” given the Trump administration’s history of clashing with perceived opponents.