Meta Faces Forced Breakup as Historic Antitrust Trial Begins
A landmark antitrust trial began Monday that could force Meta to sell Instagram and WhatsApp, potentially dismantling Mark Zuckerberg’s social media empire in the most significant corporate breakup since AT&T in the 1980s. The Federal Trade Commission alleges that Meta illegally acquired these platforms to eliminate competition and maintain a monopoly in social networking.
The case, which will unfold in federal court in Washington, D.C., before U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, represents a watershed moment in efforts to regulate Big Tech. If successful, it would not only transform Meta’s business but could establish precedent that reshapes how technology giants approach acquisitions and competition.
Buy or Compete: The $23 Billion Question
Meta’s 2012 purchase of Instagram for $1 billion and its 2014 acquisition of WhatsApp for $22 billion form the core of the government’s case. The FTC will argue these deals violated the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 by eliminating nascent competitors that could have challenged Facebook’s dominance.
Zuckerberg’s own words may prove to be his company’s biggest liability. The FTC plans to present internal documents including his 2008 email stating “It is better to buy than compete” and a 2012 memo describing the Instagram acquisition as a means to “neutralize a potential competitor,” according to The Independent.
“He said it’s better to buy than to compete. It’s hard to get more literal than that,” notes Rebecca Haw Allensworth, a professor of antitrust at Vanderbilt Law School. Both Zuckerberg and former Meta executive Sheryl Sandberg are expected to testify at the trial, which could last up to 37 days.
🚨Good Monday. The Federal Trade Commission told a federal judge that Meta illegally acquired Instagram and WhatsApp as part of a larger strategy to buy or crush up-and-coming rivals.
— AJ Huber (@Huberton) April 14, 2025
Will Mark Zuckerberg be forced to sell WhatsApp and Instagram after the FTC trial? pic.twitter.com/J42L4epKLf
The TikTok Defense: Defining the Digital Battlefield
Meta’s primary defense centers on challenging how the FTC defines the relevant market. The commission maintains that Meta has monopolized “personal social networking services” – a category that includes Snapchat but deliberately excludes platforms like YouTube and TikTok, which it views as content consumption services rather than social networks.
“The evidence at trial will show what every 17-year-old in the world knows: Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp compete with Chinese-owned TikTok, YouTube, X, iMessage and many others,” Meta spokesperson Christopher Sgro said in a statement to Wired.
Meta also argues that the acquisitions were beneficial, not harmful, to consumers. “Meta respectfully submits that the FTC will not be able to introduce any evidence to satisfy its burden,” the company’s attorneys wrote in recent court filings, claiming Instagram and WhatsApp would not have achieved their current success without Meta’s resources and expertise.
The Long and Winding Legal Road
This case represents a rare instance where the FTC seeks to unwind completed acquisitions that it had previously reviewed and approved. “More than 10 years after the FTC reviewed and cleared our acquisitions, the Commission’s action in this case sends the message that no deal is ever truly final,” Meta noted in its statement to BBC.
The legal process will be lengthy and complex. If Meta loses this initial trial, a separate proceeding would follow to determine remedies, likely extending into 2026. Appeals could further delay any final resolution for years.
Judge Boasberg has previously shown skepticism toward some of the FTC’s arguments, rejecting an initial version of the lawsuit in 2021. Despite allowing the case to proceed to trial, he has written that some of the commission’s positions “at times strain this country’s creaking antitrust precedents to their limits.”
Broader Implications for Big Tech
The Meta trial follows closely on the heels of another significant antitrust victory for regulators. Last summer, Judge Amit Mehta found that Google maintains a monopoly in online search, with the Department of Justice now seeking remedies that could include breaking up parts of Google’s business.
Together, these cases represent the most aggressive antitrust enforcement against technology giants in decades. A government victory against Meta could fundamentally alter how large tech companies approach acquisitions, potentially chilling deals that might be viewed as eliminating competitive threats.
“A victory for the government could deter big tech companies from acquiring startups in the future, cutting off a key source of innovation and investment returns for venture capitalists,” explains antitrust expert Laura Phillips-Sawyer, an associate professor of business law at the University of Georgia.
For consumers, the outcome could eventually determine whether Instagram and WhatsApp operate as independent companies with different privacy policies, features, and business models, or remain under Meta’s integrated ecosystem. What’s certain is that as this trial unfolds over the coming weeks, it will set crucial precedents for competition in the digital age.
