Did you know Meta's Merger from Instagram and WhatsApp: Tech Giant Returns to Court to Fight US Government's Monopoly Claims

 

The next two months are pivotal for tech giant Meta, which is heading to court to fight claims that its acquisition of Instagram and WhatsApp in 2012 and 2014 was designed to hinder threats to dominance.

During that time, the company known as Facebook continued to argue that it didn’t engage in monopoly-like practices to deter competition. Instead, the company argues that the main goal was to help grow those firms by acquiring them and transforming them into large-scale entities. Today, they are platforms used by billions around the globe and face competition threats day in and day out.

The firm’s senior executives, which include CEO Zuckerberg and former COO Sandberg, are said to arrive to testify in the state capital during this trial. As we’re aware, the case was a long time coming. It’s based on cases filed during Trump’s first term and then was altered during Biden’s administration.

Now, the trial is seeking solutions as dramatic as forcing Meta to undergo a possible merger. So yes, it’s more like busting up Big Tech, which is something many companies have seen in the past.

This is the third American trial trying to break up Big Tech in just two years. We’ve already seen the DOJ’s trial against Google’s search and a second one related to its ad tech business. The question right now is that Trump is back in power again, so it’s going to be interesting to see antitrust laws being applied across various digital markets.

Remember, even the new FTC chairman has said Trump is tough on Big Tech, but the majority of his focus is related to moderating conservative accounts on various online platforms. Right now, Meta is making efforts to get close to Trump’s administration. We saw Zuckerberg sit down with many other tech heads when Trump took the oath.

We then saw Meta pay settlements for a legal case linked to banning Trump’s accounts, which entailed a $25M payment. Then this year, Zuckerberg admitted to falling prey to Biden’s pressure during the pandemic and now would be ridding Facebook of third-party checkers. He vowed to make use of Community Notes as seen on X. He similarly vowed to get rid of censorship to the best of his ability.

He’s even alleged of personally visited Donald Trump to help get rid of an FTC lawsuit. And if that is the case, the FTC would have no say but to bow down to Trump’s decision. For now, the trial begins in two days, and it’s going to be interesting to see if Meta did actually violate the antitrust law or not. If guilty, we can expect another trial to see how to fix harms, which might entail breaking the organization up.

The main lawsuit accuses Meta of behaving like a monopoly in the market for various personal social networking endeavors. It did that through acquiring WhatsApp and Instagram, which would neutralize competition from rivals. We have to mention that this case was actually thrown out by Judge James Boasberg in the year 2021, as it claimed the FTC failed to provide enough evidence showing monopoly power. However, they were given a chance to refile, and that’s what we’re seeing right now.

The case right now, as per experts, appears stronger than ever against Big Tech, which could signal serious trouble for Meta. Most of the lawsuit’s strength arises from proof of Meta’s anticompetitive behavior behind purchasing Instagram and WhatsApp. One such proof is Zuckerberg’s text to the then CFO about purchasing the startups that could be meaningful and grow to a bigger scale and serve as disruptions to Meta.

For now, the case is in the court. The government must provide the right evidence about Meta’s monopoly power in a relevant market.