Judge Dismisses FTC Antitrust Case Against Meta: Court Rules No Social Media Monopoly Exists

A US federal judge dismissed the Federal Trade Commission's antitrust lawsuit against Meta on Tuesday, determining that the technology company does not maintain a monopoly in the social media landscape.

This ruling represents a significant victory for Meta, concluding a five-year legal conflict that began when the FTC filed its lawsuit in December 2020. The government agency had alleged that Meta illegally preserved market dominance by acquiring Instagram (2012) and WhatsApp (2014) to eliminate potential competitors.

Judge James Boasberg of the Washington federal district court ruled that Meta experiences sufficient competition from platforms like TikTok and YouTube, which prevents the company from exercising monopolistic control over social media markets.

The FTC had contended that Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and smaller competitor MeWe operated in a distinct market separate from video entertainment platforms such as TikTok and YouTube.

However, Judge Boasberg rejected this distinction, noting that it no longer reflects today's converging social media environment.

"Meta holds no monopoly in the relevant market," declared the judge, highlighting that Facebook and Instagram have fundamentally transformed in recent years to primarily display algorithm-recommended short videos—closely resembling TikTok's core functionality.

The court found that Americans now spend only 17 percent of their time on Facebook viewing content from connections, with that percentage falling to merely seven percent on Instagram.

Instead, users predominantly consume "Reels"—short-form video content from unknown creators recommended by artificial intelligence.

"Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube have thus evolved to have nearly identical main features," Boasberg wrote, citing substantial empirical evidence demonstrating that users treat these platforms as interchangeable alternatives.

This decision represents a significant setback for US antitrust regulators who have pursued aggressive enforcement actions against major technology companies in recent years, achieving varied outcomes in court.

The US government has initiated five major cases against technology giants recently, including two against Google and separate actions targeting Apple and Amazon.

In September, another US judge rejected the government's attempt to break up Google, despite finding that the search engine company had operated as an illegal monopoly.