A lawsuit filed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) accusing Meta of anti-competitive conduct and demanding its dissolution was upheld by a court in Washington. An earlier lawsuit on the same issue was dismissed after the court ruled that it did not include enough significant evidence, but this time Judge James Boasberg ruled that there was sufficient infrastructure for further hearing.
It should be noted that Judge Boasberg did not express any opinion as to the likelihood of the prosecution being ultimately accepted. “The question of whether the FTC will be able to prove the case and win in court is entirely open,” he said. In addition, one of the lawsuits – which states that Meta makes it difficult to communicate between its customers and competing app users – has been removed as it has been determined that it is no longer relevant.
The FTC’s demand in principle is that WhatsApp and Instagram, which were acquired by Facebook at the beginning of the previous decade, be separated from it and become independent companies. Also, a more rigorous regime will be applied to approve any additional transaction that the company will be interested in making, with even relatively small purchases in the amount of ten million dollars requiring prior approval from the administration.
The meta conveys, at least outwardly, indifference to the court’s determination. “Today’s decision limits the scope of the lawsuit,” the meta states, referring to the judge’s decision to remove some of the clauses. “The court also emphasized how difficult it will be for the trade authority to prove its claims regarding acquisitions that were completed years ago.” According to reports, Meta is also working to fully consolidate infrastructure between the various communications applications it owns, a move that will make it difficult to dismantle if the court ultimately determines so.