Mark Zuckerberg is facing one of the most major lawsuits on Monday, as a high-stakes trial at a US court against him began on April 14. The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has alleged that Zuckerberg’s Meta bought Instagram and WhatsApp in an unlawful move. If the Meta CEO fails to win the antitrust case, the company could be forced to break itself up and sell Instagram and WhatsApp.
Mark Zuckerberg vs FTC
As the trial began in Washington on Monday, an FTC attorney alleged Facebook parent Meta Platforms bought up nascent rivals Instagram and WhatsApp after its attempts to compete had failed, reported Reuters.
FTC attorney Daniel Matheson said that the unlawful strategy “established entry barriers that for more than a decade protected Meta’s dominance.”
He argued that the buying of WhatsApp and Instagram left consumers without a “reasonable alternatives they can turn to”.
The case, filed during President Donald Trump’s first term, claims Meta bought the companies a decade ago to eliminate competition among social media platforms where users connect with friends and family.
The case poses a potential threat to Meta, which by some estimates earns about half of its US advertising revenue from Instagram, while testing the new Trump administration’s promises to take on Big Tech, as per Reuters.
Will Mark Zuckerberg sell Instagram, WhatsApp?
According to a report by BBC, Meta is confident that it will win the case and may argue that Instagram’s user experience became better since it took over.
However, if the judge sides with the FTC and the government at large, Mark Zuckerberg could be forced to break up with Instagram and WhatsApp, and other companies will be put on notice.
However, a CNN report says if Donald Trump, who has over the years improved his relationship with Zuckerberg, decides to enter the room, things could take a different turn.
Reports by The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal on April 2 say that Zuckerberg has been trying to persuade Trump into resolving the FTC case. The report came on the same day the Meta owner was spotted at the White House.
“Remember how Mark Zuckerberg started cozying up to Trump as Meta donated $1 million to his inauguration? Well now Zuckerberg is trying to cash in — reportedly lobbying Trump to settle the FTC’s antitrust lawsuit against Meta. This is why you always follow the money,” former Labor Secretary Robert Reich wrote on X.
Meta Chief Legal Officer Jennifer Newstead called the case weak and a deterrent to tech investment.
“It’s absurd that the FTC is trying to break up a great American company at the same time the Administration is trying to save Chinese-owned TikTok,” she wrote in a blog post on Sunday.
