Meta defeated a major antitrust challenge that threatened to force divestitures of Instagram and WhatsApp after a federal judge ruled the company does not currently hold a monopoly in social networking.
U.S. District Judge James Boasberg issued the decision following a trial that ended in late May, rejecting the Federal Trade Commission’s claim that Meta maintained monopoly power through anticompetitive acquisitions. The ruling stands in sharp contrast to recent decisions labeling Google an illegal monopoly in search and online advertising.
In his opinion, Boasberg said the FTC failed to prove that Meta continues to wield monopoly power today, even if it may have in the past. Regulators argued that Meta systematically bought potential competitors, citing Mark Zuckerberg’s 2008 comment that “it is better to buy than compete.”
The court found that argument insufficient to meet the burden of proof. For Meta, the decision removes an existential legal cloud hanging over its core business — at least for now.
Read more in the AP story.