Meta has lost an appeal to disregard a Federal Trade Comission (FTC) antitrust lawsuit which could force the company to sell both WhatsApp and Instagram.
The FTC was allowed to pursue the case after Judge James Boasberg ruled it had plausible reason against the social media giant.
“The court declines to engage in such speculation and simply concludes that at this motion-to-dismiss stage, where the FTC’s allegations are treated as true, the agency has stated a plausible claim for relief.”
The US government has followed the lead of Beijing in trying to curb the market dominance and powers of some of the country’s biggest tech companies including Alphabet and Apple that began under Donald Trump’s presidency.
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The commission claims that Meta has engaged in a “”systematic strategy” to eliminate its market competition which has included purchasing up-and-coming rivals such as Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014.
New York’s Attorney General Letitia James has said that Facebook “used its monopoly power to crush smaller rivals and snuff out competition, all at the expense of everyday users,” when filing the suit.
Meta cooled fears in a statement by saying: “Today’s decision narrows the scope of the FTC’s case by rejecting claims about our platform policies.
“It also acknowledges that the agency faces a ‘tall task’ proving its case regarding two acquisitions it cleared years ago.”
