Meta prevails in historic FTC antitrust case, won't have to break off
WhatsApp, Instagram
[November 19, 2025] By
BARBARA ORTUTAY
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Meta has prevailed over an existential challenge to
its business that could have forced the tech giant to spin off Instagram
and WhatsApp after a judge ruled that the company does not hold a
monopoly in social networking.
U.S. District Judge James Boasberg issued his ruling Tuesday after the
historic antitrust trial wrapped up in late May. His decision runs in
sharp contrast to two separate rulings that branded Google an illegal
monopoly in both search and online advertising, dealing regulatory blows
to the tech industry that for years enjoyed nearly unbridled growth.
The Federal Trade Commission “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 wrote in his
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.”
The federal agency had argued that Meta maintained a monopoly by
pursuing an expression CEO Mark Zuckerberg made in 2008: “‘It is better
to buy than compete.’ True to that maxim, Facebook has systematically
tracked potential rivals and acquired companies that it viewed as
serious competitive threats.”
During his April testimony, Zuckerberg pushed back against claims that
Facebook bought Instagram to neutralize a threat. In his line of
questioning, FTC attorney Daniel Matheson repeatedly brought up emails —
many of them more than a decade old — written by Zuckerberg and his
associates before and after the acquisition of Instagram.
While acknowledging the documents, Zuckerberg has often sought to
downplay the contents, saying he wrote the emails early in the
acquisition process and that the notes did not fully capture the scope
of his interest in the company. But the case was not about the
acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp more than a decade ago, which the
FTC approved at the time, but about whether Meta holds a monopoly now.
Prosecutors, Boasberg wrote in the ruling, could only win if they proved
“current or imminent legal violation.”
The FTC’s complaint said Facebook also enacted policies designed to make
it difficult for smaller rivals to enter the market and “neutralize
perceived competitive threats,” just as the world shifted its attention
to mobile devices from desktop computers.
Meta said Tuesday's decision “recognizes that Meta faces fierce
competition.”
“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,” said
Jennifer Newstead, chief legal officer, in a statement.
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 The social media landscape has
changed so much since the FTC filed its lawsuit in 2020, Boasberg
wrote, that each time the court examined Meta's apps and
competition, they changed. Two opinions to dismiss the case — filed
in 2021 and 2022 — didn't even mention popular social video platform
TikTok. Today, it “holds center stage as Meta's fiercest rival.”
Quoting the Greek philosopher Heraclitus, “that no
man can ever step into the same river twice,” Boasberg said the same
is true for the online world of social media as well.
“The landscape that existed only five years ago when the Federal
Trade Commission brought this antitrust suit has changed markedly.
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,” he wrote.
Emarketer analyst Minda Smiley said Meta's win “is not necessarily
surprising considering the lengths it’s gone to in recent years to
keep up with TikTok.”
“But from a regulatory standpoint, Meta is far from out of the
woods: next year, major social networks will face landmark trials in
the US regarding children’s mental health,” she added. "Still,
today’s win is surely a boost for the company as it battles
criticism and questions over how its massive AI spending will
ultimately benefit Meta in the long run.”
Facebook bought Instagram — then a scrappy photo-sharing app with no
ads and a small cult following — in 2012. The $1 billion cash and
stock purchase price was eye-popping at the time, though the deal’s
value fell to $750 million after Facebook’s stock price dipped
following its initial public offering in May 2012.
Instagram was the first company Facebook bought and kept running as
a separate app. Up until then, Facebook was known for smaller
“acqui-hires” — a type of popular Silicon Valley deal in which a
company purchases a startup as a way to hire its talented workers,
then shuts the acquired company down. Two years later, it did it
again with the messaging app WhatsApp, which it purchased for $22
billion.
WhatsApp and Instagram helped Facebook move its business from
desktop computers to mobile devices, and to remain popular with
younger generations as rivals like Snapchat (which it also tried,
but failed, to buy) and TikTok emerged. However, the FTC has a
narrow definition of Meta’s competitive market, excluding companies
like TikTok, YouTube and Apple’s messaging service from being
considered rivals to Instagram and WhatsApp.
Investors didn't appear surprised at the ruling. Shares of the Menlo
Park, California-based company were down $1.52 at $600.49 in
afternoon trading Tuesday, in line with broader market trends.
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