Facebook owner Meta Platforms must now answer in court in a lawsuit brought by the United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The subject of the suit is the allegation that the company acquired Instagram and WhatsApp to eliminate new competition in social media. A Washington judge ruled on Wednesday. Judge James Boasberg largely rejected Meta’s request to dismiss a lawsuit filed against Facebook in 2020 during the Trump administration, alleging that Facebook acted illegally to maintain its monopoly in the social network.
Meta, then known as Facebook, made excessive payments to Instagram and WhatsApp in 2012 and 2014 to eliminate new threats rather than compete alone in the mobile ecosystem, the FTC alleged.
Meta had asked the judge to dismiss the entire suit as being based on too narrow a view of the social media market.
Boasberg let the case go but rejected the FTC’s argument that Facebook restricted outside app developers’ access to the platform unless they agreed not to compete with the company’s core services.
The judge also did not allow Meta to argue in its defense that acquiring WhatsApp improved its strategic position vis-à-vis Apple and Google. The judge said he would issue a detailed ruling later on Wednesday after the FTC and Meta have had a chance to redact sensitive business information.
No trial date has yet been set for the case. Meta had asked the judge to dismiss the entire lawsuit, saying it was based on too narrow a view of the social media market and didn’t take into account competition from ByteDance Inc.’s TikTok, Google Inc.’s YouTube and X and Microsoft Corp.
The case is one of five large lawsuits brought by the FTC and the U.S. Department of Justice’s antitrust authorities against Big Tech. Amazon.com and Apple have both been sued, and Google faces two lawsuits, one of which recently found the company illegally thwarted competition between online search engines.
