In another major defeat by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) against tech companies, Meta received an antitrust ruling, which will ensure that it does not have to spin off its WhatsApp and Instagram businesses.
A federal judge in Washington said that Meta did not violate the law when it acquired its competitors Instagram for US $ 1 billion in 2012, and Whatsapp, in 2014, for US $ 19 billion.
The FTC had previously asked a judge to force meta to rely on Instagram and WhatsApp.
The news lifted the meta shares, which were down at US $ 583.78 on the day when the S & P 500 index jumped more than 55 points to 6617.95, to US $ 599.95 close.
In a case that spanned more than five years, the FTC said that Meta (then known as Facebook), bought companies to kill its competitors. It means that Meta violated Section 2 of the 135-year-old Sherman-AntiTrust Act, a federal law that prohibits monopoly on anti-competitive practices.
In his 80-page decision, delivered on Tuesday after the case closed in May, US District Judge James Boasberg said: “The Federal Trade Commission continues to enforce that meta has been going on for decades, that it has held that monopoly among those small companies, and that it has maintained that anticompetitive acquisition.
“Whether or not meta enjoyed monopoly power in the past, the agency must demonstrate that it continues to hold power now. The Court’s decision today determines that the FTC does not.”
The judge added that the market has continued to expand with competitors including Tiktok and YouTube.
The ruling comes as a relief to the tech industry, which is reeling after facing two antitrust rulings. Google was ruled as an illegal monopoly in search, and online advertising.
There is another lawsuit pending against the technology company, Amazon, in which the government accuses the company of installing small sellers using its platform. A trial is scheduled for 2027. Apple is also liable, by using its App Store it has harmed those who are part of it.
The judge said that the Social Media Landscape has changed a lot since the FTC filed its case in 2020, those ideas to dismiss this case file in 2021 and 2022 did not speak to Tiktok, now “now” a burning meta stage “.
Boasberg added: “The only situation that existed only five years ago when the Federal Trade Commission brought this anti-diversification process into different parts of social media and social media, that went down.”
Meta said the FTC had ignored competition from Tiktok, the YouTube app and Apple’s Messaging App, among others. It also defended its acquisitions, saying that buying companies that lead in innovation rather than building competing products was a valid business strategy.
Jennifer Newtead, Meta’s Chief Legal Office, said in a statement: “The Court’s decision today recognizes that Meta faces fierce competition. Our products are beneficial to people and businesses and economic growth.”
Joe Simonson, a spokesman for the FTC said it would review its options and added: “We are very disappointed in this decision. The bench was always full of us with Judge BASBERG.”
