Meta Did Not Create an Illegal Monopoly with Instagram and WhatsApp Acquisitions

U.S. District Court Judge James E. Boasberg ruled today that Meta did not illegally create or maintain a monopoly by acquiring Instagram and WhatsApp. The issue? Thanks to the rise of new competitors like TikTok and even YouTube, Meta now faces strong competition in a market it may or may not have once dominated.

“The [Federal Trade Commission (FTC)] continues to insist that Meta competes with the same old rivals it has for the last decade, that the company holds a monopoly among that small set, and that it maintained that monopoly through anticompetitive acquisitions,” Boasberg writes in the ruling. “Whether or not Meta enjoyed monopoly power in the past, though, the agency must show that it continues to hold such power now. The Court’s verdict today determines that the FTC has not done so.”

This case was famous mostly for the revelation that Meta/Facebook co-founder once communicated internally that “it is better to buy than compete.” But that comment, like similar internal communications that came to light during Microsoft’s U.S. antitrust trial 25 years ago, doesn’t mean the company was breaking the law. It was just a simple financial statement: It was less expensive to acquire the then-new services than it would have been to create alternatives internally.

But the bigger issue is that this case was over five years old and slowly wound its way through the court system, allowing new competitors to emerge.

“The landscape that existed only five years ago when the Federal Trade Commission brought this antitrust suit has changed markedly,” Judge Boasberg writes. “While it once might have made sense to partition apps into separate markets of social networking and social media, that wall has since broken down.”

“The Court’s decision today recognizes that Meta faces fierce competition,” a Meta statement reads. “Our products are beneficial for people and businesses and exemplify American innovation and economic growth. We look forward to continuing to partner with the Administration and to invest in America.”