News Meta antitrust trial: updates from the monopoly battle with the FTC

[News]

A long-awaited trial between Meta and the Federal Trade Commission kicks off on April 14th. Over about two months, DC District Court Judge James Boasberg will hear arguments about whether Facebook illegally monopolized the market for personal social networking services through its 2012 and 2014 acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp.

The FTC first brought the case in late 2020, and while it was initially thrown out by the judge, he let an amended version move forward because the government had beefed up details about why Meta is allegedly a monopoly. This phase of the trial will help the judge determine if Meta is liable for breaking antitrust laws. If he finds it is, he’ll later rule on how its harms should be remedies — including potentially by breaking it up.

The Meta trial is the third trial seeking to break up a tech monopoly in recent years, following the Justice Department’s two separate cases against Google over its search and ad tech businesses. CEO Mark Zuckerberg has personally lobbied President Donald Trump to try to avoid the trial.

Read below for all of our updates on the case.

• We’re at the courthouse where Meta is facing its existential antitrust trial.
• Meta goes to trial to avoid a breakup of Instagram and WhatsApp
• FTC chair says he’d ‘obey lawful orders’ if Trump asked to drop an antitrust case like Meta’s
• Judge says the FTC’s Meta monopoly lawsuit can go forward
• Federal court dismisses FTC’s bid to unwind Instagram from Facebook
• The FTC is suing Facebook to unwind its acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp