After Meta, parent company of Facebook, acquired Instagram and WhatsApp, the FTC brought Sherman Act antitrust claims against the company in 2020. The district court had previously denied a motion to dismiss, and, yesterday, denied both parties’ cross-motions for summary judgment–finding the case must go to trial. In so doing, though, the court commented that the FTC’s “positions at times strain this country’s creaking antitrust precedents to their limits.”
Notably, this case was brought by the FTC during the first Trump Administration, and Meta, unlike other social media companies, is not prominently represented in the transition. So, unlike other FTC actions, it is unclear how, if at all, changes in personnel will impact this case.
