Meta scores a win after judge rules the social media giant is not an illegal monopoly

By Clare Duffy, CNN

New York (CNN) — Meta scored a major win on Tuesday after a federal judge ruled that it is not a social networking monopoly, shooting down an argument from the US Federal Trade Commission that it should be forced to spin off two of its most popular platforms.

The Federal Trade Commission sued Meta in 2020, accusing it of violating antitrust law by acquiring nascent, would-be rivals Instagram and WhatsApp to avoid having to compete with them. The seven-week trial in the case saw testimony from a series of prominent figures, including Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who argued that the company has plenty of competition from platforms including YouTube and TikTok.

Federal judge James Boasberg agreed with the company’s argument in his Tuesday opinion, saying that TikTok and YouTube prevent Meta from monopolizing the social network market. He also noted that Meta’s apps and the social media landscape have changed since the FTC filed its case, most recently because of AI-generated content, which undermined the agency’s arguments.

“Meta holds no monopoly in the relevant market,” he wrote.

CNN has reached out to the FTC for comment.

“The Court’s decision today recognizes that Meta faces fierce competition,” Meta spokesperson Nkechi Nneji said in a statement. “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.”

A forced breakup would have been a major loss for Meta, which heavily relies on Instagram for ad revenue and WhatsApp for business subscriptions and its international prominence. Although Meta boasts 3.3 billion daily users across its platforms, Zuckerberg’s testimony during the seven-week trial indicated that the app with which he founded the company, Facebook, is declining in popularity.

The ruling also marks a win for Silicon Valley as US regulators increasingly seek to crack down on the power of Big Tech. Google was recently ruled a monopoly in two separate cases related to its search and online advertising businesses. Apple and Amazon are also fighting antitrust cases brought by the government.

Meta, then known as Facebook, acquired Instagram in 2012 for $1 billion and WhatsApp in 2014 for $19 billion.

During the trial, lawyers for the FTC pointed to emails and internal documents that they said showed that Zuckerberg was concerned about competition from Instagram and WhatsApp prior to the acquisitions. They claimed that Meta’s large user base reflected a lack of “reasonable alternatives” for consumers in the social media space.

Meta argued that regulators approved the acquisitions years ago when they were made, and that a forced breakup could harm American competitiveness in the tech space.

Boasberg’s ruling argues that Meta’s apps hold only a “modest share” of total time spent in the social media market — which includes Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, MeWe, TikTok and YouTube — and that its share is falling. He added that “even if YouTube is excluded (from the relevant market), Meta still would not hold a monopoly.” (Boasberg’s opinion redacts the specific market share he believes Meta to hold.)

“TikTok — which Meta considers its fiercest competitor — broke into the market only seven years ago … and has been overrunning the market ever since,” Boasberg wrote.

This story has been updated with additional details and context.

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