Meta will go to trial in April over an antitrust suit that could force the company to sell Instagram and WhatsApp, a United States district judge ruled today.
The lawsuit, filed by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in 2020, argues Meta overpaid to acquire Instagram and WhatsApp in a bid to stifle emerging competition.
“While the parties' legal jousting is both impressive and comprehensive, it leaves no clear victor. This case must go to trial,” district judge James Boasberg said in an initial opinion on November 13.
The Federal Trade Commission “continues to argue that a relevant antitrust market exists for personal social-networking services and that, since at least 2012, Meta has enjoyed monopoly power in that market,” according to the opinion.
“The Commission further contends that [Meta] unlawfully maintained that monopoly by acquiring two actual or nascent competitors, Instagram and WhatsApp, that posed a threat to its dominance at the time.”
Meta, then known as Facebook, acquired Instagram in 2012 for US$1 billion and WhatsApp for $16 billion in 2014.
The trial is scheduled for April 14 in Washington, D.C. The case will be a bench trial, decided by a judge rather than a jury.
"We are confident that the evidence at trial will show that the acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp have been good for competition and consumers,” a Meta spokesperson said earlier this month.
Meta previously asked for the case to be dismissed, saying the suit did not account for competition from TikTok, YouTube, X (known as Twitter when the suit was filed), or LinkedIn.
Meta’s (NASDAQ: META) share price closed at US$565.11, up from the previous day’s $559.14. Its market cap is $1.43 trillion.