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Meta secured a major victory in its five-year legal battle against the US government on Tuesday when a federal judge dismissed the antitrust lawsuit. The ruling concluded that the tech giant's prior acquisitions of Instagram (2012) and WhatsApp (2014) did not constitute an illegal monopoly in the social media market, refuting the government's claim that Meta bought the platforms to eliminate competitive threats.
Judge James Boasberg of the federal district court in Washington concluded that Meta faces sufficient competition from rivals TikTok and YouTube, preventing the company from exercising monopoly power in the social media market.
The FTC had argued that Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and minor player MeWe competed in a distinct market of connecting friends and family that was separate from video entertainment platforms like TikTok and YouTube.
The US government argued that this hold on friends and family offered a unique ability to build out Meta products and rake in billions of dollars in profits every quarter. But Boasberg found that distinction no longer holds in today's social media landscape.
"Meta holds no monopoly in the relevant market," the judge declared, noting that Facebook and Instagram have transformed in recent years to primarily show users short videos recommended by algorithms -- nearly identical to TikTok's core offering.
The court cited data that Americans now spend only 17 percent of their time on Facebook viewing content from friends, with that figure dropping to just seven percent on Instagram. Instead, users predominantly watch "Reels" -- short videos from strangers recommended by AI. "Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube have thus evolved to have nearly identical main features," Boasberg wrote, citing evidence showing that users treat these platforms as substitutes. Meta welcomed the judge's recognition that the company "faces fierce competition" and said it looked forward to working with the Trump administration "and to invest in America."
Ahead of the trial that began in April, Meta CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg had made repeated visits to the White House as he tried to persuade President Donald Trump against allowing the FTC to fight the trial.
The trial did take place, with Zuckerberg and several top Meta executives brought to the stand.
