One of the most significant antitrust cases in recent memory has opened in Washington, with the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) challenging Meta Platforms over its acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp. The FTC alleges that Meta, formerly Facebook, sought to eliminate competition through a “buy or bury” strategy, thereby cementing its dominance in the social media market. The trial, which began on Monday, could see Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg take the stand as early as this week, with regulators expected to question him for up to seven hours.
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The case stems from a lengthy investigation into whether Meta’s acquisitions in 2012 and 2014 violated antitrust laws. The FTC aims to force the company to divest Instagram and WhatsApp—two of the world’s largest social platforms with over 2 billion users each. Former Meta Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg and Instagram head Adam Mosseri are also due to give evidence. A key piece of evidence is a 2012 message from Zuckerberg to Sandberg, in which he appeared to acknowledge Instagram’s rapid growth as a threat to Facebook, saying: “We had to buy them.”
FTC lawyer Daniel Matheson opened proceedings by accusing Meta of profiting disproportionately in an uncompetitive environment, promising to show internal records that reveal the company’s true motives. Meta, however, denies wrongdoing and maintains it has been a force for innovation. A spokesperson for Meta argued that its platforms face stiff competition from TikTok, YouTube, iMessage, and others, and criticised the FTC for reopening a case it had originally cleared over a decade ago.
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The case was first filed in 2020 under President Donald Trump and has continued under President Joe Biden’s administration. Since then, the relationship between Trump and Meta has evolved significantly. After Meta suspended Trump’s Facebook account in the wake of the 6 January Capitol riot, it reinstated his account in 2023 and fully restored it in 2024. Following Trump’s re-election in November 2024, Meta donated to his inaugural fund and Zuckerberg has since maintained regular contact with the White House. The outcome of this trial could set a new precedent for tech regulation in the United States.
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