Meta will today begin its trial in an antitrust case brought by the United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which could see the company sell Instagram and WhatsApp.
The FTC has argued that Meta acquired Instagram and WhatsApp to stifle competition, in a case first filed in 2020. The trial will be heard by U.S. District Judge James Boasberg in Washington, D.C. from Monday local time, and will not include a jury.
Meta has denied the FTC’s allegations. “Meta has made Instagram and WhatsApp better, more reliable and more secure through billions of dollars and millions of hours of investment,” the company said ahead of the trial.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg will testify at the trial, along with Instagram head Adam Mosseri and other Meta executives. Representatives from Meta’s competitor platforms X, TikTok, Pinterest, and Snapchat will also testify.
The trial is expected to last for seven to eight weeks after Monday’s opening statements. The FTC has called for Meta to divest from Instagram and WhatsApp, if it prevails.
Zuckerberg has reportedly lobbied United States President Donald Trump for a potential FTC settlement. The company also filed for summary judgment last year, though this was rejected by Boasberg.
Meta purchased Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014. In 2012, Zuckerberg wrote in an internal memo that the goal of the Instagram acquisition was to “neutralize a potential competitor”.
The company also purportedly cut off access to Facebook’s data among other competitor platforms, which the FTC will allege violates antitrust laws.
Two of the FTC’s five commissioners, Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Kelly Slaughter, were fired by Trump in March, and are currently lodging bids to be reinstated.
Bedoya and Kelly Slaughter have filed a lawsuit against Trump that would reverse their firings. The commissioners have sought an expedited ruling, calling on U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan over the weekend to decide the case immediately. Democratic representatives have also asked for the commissioners to be reinstated.
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