The antitrust process against Meta starts in the USA: it may force Zuckerberg to sell Instagram
Kyiv • UNN
A case is starting in Washington, where Meta is accused of monopolizing the market after the acquisition of Instagram and WhatsApp. The FTC may force Zuckerberg to sell these platforms.
A landmark antitrust case against social media giant Meta kicks off in Washington on Monday, UNN reports citing the BBC.
Details
The US antitrust watchdog claims that Meta, which already owned Facebook, bought Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014 to eliminate competition, effectively creating a monopoly for itself.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reviewed and approved these acquisitions, but pledged to monitor the results. If the FTC wins the case, it could force Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to sell both Instagram and WhatsApp.
Meta has previously stated that it is confident of winning, and experts told the BBC that they are likely to argue that Instagram users have had the best experience since it was taken over.
"The [FTC] argument is that the acquisition of Instagram was a way to neutralize this growing competitive threat to Facebook," says Rebecca Haw Allensworth, a professor of antitrust policy at Vanderbilt Law School.
Allensworth says that Zuckerberg's own words, including those he wrote in his emails, may be the most compelling evidence at trial.
"He said it's better to buy than compete. It's hard to say more literally," Allensworth said.
Meta, on the other hand, is likely to argue that intent doesn't matter much in an antitrust case.
"They will say that the real question is: will consumers be better off as a result of this merger?" she said. - They will provide a lot of evidence that Instagram has become what it is today because it has benefited from being owned by Facebook."
Zuckerberg and former Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg are expected to testify at the trial, which could last several weeks.