TECH NEWS – Mark Zuckerberg’s company is going to court to stop the two platforms from being taken away…
Regulators are getting tougher and tougher, and lately they haven’t spared the tech giants. It seems that any company that breaks the law will be fined. For almost a year now, Google has been under enormous pressure over allegations of market dominance, and the authorities are even considering forcing the company to sell itself. Now it seems that Meta’s feet are also on the hot seat, as the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is pursuing an antitrust case against the company over its acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp. The trial is reportedly set for April 14, tomorrow, and could completely change the company’s future.
For the next two months, Meta will be fighting a legal battle that could change the social media landscape and the future of the company. According to Bloomberg, the trial of the case, which has been ongoing for a short time, is set to begin on Monday. The FTC originally filed the case in 2020. They say Meta illegally gained market dominance by creating a monopoly through the acquisition of Instagram and WhatsApp, thereby preventing competition.
Instagram was acquired by Meta in 2012, and WhatsApp was acquired in 2014. According to the FTC, these moves eliminated potential threats to its monopoly, and the quality of Meta’s apps deteriorated due to less competition and weaker privacy protections as more ads were displayed. The FTC has been vigilant in ensuring that acquisitions do not violate antitrust laws or impede the maintenance of healthy competition. According to the FTC, the acquisition should never have been approved in the first place, and now that the damage has been done, the separation of Instagram and WhatsApp is the solution to address the growing dominance.
In Meta’s defense, it argues that the acquisition of Instagram and WhatsApp has given the platform an expanded audience, helping it reach billions of people worldwide. Zuck’s company also argues that it has faced intense competition that hasn’t abated since, and that the acquisition means it will have to compete with even more players. Given that regulators approved the acquisitions at the time, it could be argued that penalizing it now is justified. Meta says the FTC’s definition of the market is too narrow, especially with emerging technologies and other companies trying to stay nimble.
A two-month trial will be held in Washington. If the FTC wins, Meta will be forced to buy Instagram and WhatsApp.
