Meta asked a federal judge Thursday to toss the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) case against the social media giant, arguing the agency failed to prove at trial that the company violated antitrust laws.
The Facebook parent contends the agency failed to show that it has a monopoly over personal social networking and that its acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp were anticompetitive.
“With the close of the FTC’s case, the trial record establishes that Meta Platforms, Inc. (‘Meta’) acquired Instagram and WhatsApp in order to improve them and expand its own portfolio of services – to better compete against many dynamic, innovative, and fierce rivals,” the company wrote in a court filing. “And Meta did just that.”
“Meta has made two promising mobile apps with uncertain prospects into two of the most successful apps in the world, enjoyed by approximately half of the planet’s population (including hundreds of millions of U.S. consumers) on demand, in unlimited quantities, all for free,” it added.
The FTC sued Meta in 2020, accusing the firm of attempting to entrench its alleged monopoly over personal social networking through key acquisitions, namely Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg reportedly lobbied the Trump administration for a settlement in the weeks leading up to the trial last month to no avail. He was the first witness called by the FTC, spending three days on the stand.
However, after five weeks at trial, Meta argues the government has failed to show the company has a monopoly over personal social networking, emphasizing that its apps remain free and claiming there has been no decline in quality for users.
It also contends that the FTC’s proposed personal social networking market — which includes Meta’s apps, Snapchat and MeWe — is too narrow, arguing it faces competition from the likes of TikTok, YouTube and iMessage.
Meta slammed the proposed market, which centers on sharing between friends and family, as “fiction.”
“[R]ecent data decisively refutes the claim that ‘friends-and-family sharing’ insulates Meta’s apps from competition from (among many others) YouTube, iMessage, and, most dramatically, TikTok – a disruptive entrant that forced Meta to transform Facebook and Instagram or risk precipitous decline,” the company wrote.
It also pushes back on the claim that its acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp were anticompetitive, arguing that it has substantially invested in both apps and that there was no guarantee either would turn out to be major rivals.
With the FTC wrapping up its case Thursday, it’s now Meta’s turn to make its argument. The social media giant faces high stakes, as a loss would likely open it up to a potential breakup.
