RootsA test in the Landmark Antitrest case against social media giant meta was closed in Washington on Monday.
The US competition and the consumer guard allege that the meta, which was already owned by Facebook, bought the Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014 to end the competition, effectively gave itself a monopoly.
FTC reviewed and approved those acquisitions but committed to monitor the results. If the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) wins the matter, he may force Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to sell both Instagram and WhatsApp.
Meta had earlier stated that it was sure that it would win and experts have told the BBC that it is likely to argue that Instagram users have a better experience because it was taken.
“(FTC) argument of Instagram was a way to neutralize this growing competitive threat to Facebook,” says Rebecca How Alensworth, a professor of antitrust at Vendarbilat Law School.
Ms. Ellanceworth says that Mr. Zuckerberg’s words, including her emails, can provide the most concrete evidence in the test.
“He said it is better to buy than competing. It is difficult to be more literal than this,” Ms. Elensworth says.
On the other hand, meta, it is likely to argue that the intention is not particularly relevant in an antitrust case.
“They are going to say that the real question is: are consumers better as a result of this merger?” He said. “They will put a lot of evidence that Instagram became it today because it benefited from Facebook ownership.”
Both Mr. Zuckerberg and former Chief Operating Officer of the company Sheryl Sandberg are expected to testify in the test, which may last several weeks.
Shifting politics
The case, FTC V Meta, was filed during the first administration of US President Donald Trump, but the risk was being politicized during his second term.
Mr. Zuckerberg has advocated Trump, which is in the person to leave the FTC case, According to Wall Street Journal,
When asked by the BBC to confirm that report, Meta sidelined the question, but said in a statement: “FTC cases against Meta defying reality.”
A Meta spokesman told the BBC, “After more than 10 years of reviewing and cleaning our acquisition by FTC, the Commission’s action in the case sends the message that no deal is actually finally final.”
There was a relationship between Mr. Zuckerberg and Trump Frosty Partly because Trump was stopped from Meta’s social media platforms in January 2021 after the American Capital riot.
Since then, the relationship has melted to some extent.
Meta Contribution For Trump’s opening fund, and $ 1M (£ 764,400) in January Announced The Ultimate Fighting Championship Fighter (UFC) Boss Dana White, a close Trump associate, will join his board of directors.
Company too Announced In January, it was removing with independent facts.
‘A very clear message’
President Trump’s steps to fire two FTC commissioners in March also hangs on the case.
As a Democrat, Rebecca Kelly Slaughter and Alvaro Bedoya were in a minority in the five -seat commission.
Till Wednesday, only two seats of those seats were filled, both by Republican. There was another Republican Confirmed By Senate on Thursday.
Slaughter and Bedoya – who are suese to restore the Trump administration – say it was to scare them to push out.
Slotter told the BBC in a recent interview, “The President sent a very clear indication to not only for us but also the chairman Ferguson and Commissioner (Melissa) Holock that if they do something, he could also fire them,” Slotter told the BBC in a recent interview.
“So if they do not want to do a favor for their political colleagues, they are also on the chopping block,” slaughter said.
Both Slotter and Bedoya expressed alarm in recent reports about Zuckerberg’s lobbying efforts.
“I hope there is no political intervention,” Mr. Bedoya told the BBC.
RootsThe FTC did not respond to the Request of the BBC.
Ferguson, recently appointed as FTC President by Trump told When asked by the President to leave the case against Meta, what he would do, he would “follow legitimate orders”.
Ferguson said that if anything like this happens, he would be very surprised.
FTC is considered a major antitrust watchdog. In recent years, it has returned millions of dollars worth millions of dollars to the victims of fraud, in addition to passing the laws of junk fees and membership nets.
But as the meta test begins, it is one of the many independent regulatory agencies, which seems eager to strengthen the administration.
Kursi Ferguson is also recently Quoted Confirming his belief that independent regulatory bodies “are not good for democracy.”
FTC’s ‘kidnapped fight’
FTC V Meta begins as another major antitrust case – the USA V enters Google – known as the treatment phase.
The Department of Justice won the first phase of the case in the last summer when Judge Amit Mehta found that Google has a monopoly in online search, which has a market share of about 90%.
Last month, DOJ Repeated The demand made during the Biden administration broke Google’s discovery monopoly.
It would be difficult to prove the FTC case against Meta, called Laura Philips-Sovier, an associate professor of trade law at Georgia University.
“I think they have a real difficult battle,” Ms. Philips-Saur said about FTC.
“They have a long road before any idea of the division of Instagram or WhatsApp.”
This is because compared to online search, there is more competition in the individual network service location that is operated in meta, Ms. Philips-Sovier said.
Meta said in a statement that the trial proof “will show what every 17-year-old person in the world knows: Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp compete with Chinese-owned Ticketkok, YouTube, X, Imes and many others.”
