Meta asks judge to dismiss FTC antitrust case

Meta asked a federal judge Friday to dismiss the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) antitrust case against the social media giant, arguing that the agency failed to prove that its acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp harmed consumers. 

“From the very beginning, the FTC has failed to state a plausible claim, and the agency has done nothing to build its case through the discovery process to prove otherwise,” Meta said in a press release. 

“The evidence shows exactly what we said it would: Meta faces fierce competition from a range of platforms — from TikTok and X to YouTube and Snapchat,” it added. “Further, Meta’s acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp, which regulators reviewed and cleared more than a decade ago, have benefited consumers.” 

The FTC sued Meta in 2020, alleging the social media giant has illegally maintained a monopoly on personal social networking through its acquisition of Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014. 

The case was initially dismissed in 2021, after the judge found that the FTC failed to provide sufficient evidence to back up its claim that Meta had monopoly power. However, the agency was able to file an amended complaint. 

Meta argued Friday that the FTC has artificially limited the relevant market in the case to just four companies — Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and MeWe — while excluding other competitors, like TikTok, YouTube, X and LinkedIn. 

Because the market isn’t properly defined, the social media giant claimed that the FTC’s assertion that Meta holds a dominant share is “meaningless.” 

“The FTC has no evidence of monopoly power because the alleged monopoly power doesn’t exist,” Meta said in the press release. 

It also argued that its “significant investment of time and resources” in Instagram and WhatsApp has benefited consumers and “made them into the services that millions of users enjoy today for free.” 

The Hill has reached out to the FTC for comment.