The long-awaited antitrust trial between the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Meta Platforms Inc., formerly known as Facebook, officially begins Monday in a Washington court. At the center of the trial are Meta’s controversial acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp—two of the most pivotal deals in tech history. The FTC alleges that these acquisitions were strategic moves by CEO Mark Zuckerberg to squash competition and secure Meta’s dominance in the social media market.
But what’s at stake goes beyond corporate rivalry—it could fundamentally reshape the landscape of social media and set a precedent for how antitrust laws are applied to Big Tech.
The FTC claims that Meta’s $1 billion acquisition of Instagram in 2012 and its $19 billion purchase of WhatsApp in 2014 were not merely strategic investments but deliberate moves to eliminate potential rivals. “Acquiring these competitive threats has enabled Facebook to sustain its dominance—not by competing on the merits, but by avoiding competition,” the agency said in a legal filing.
Adding fuel to the fire are new explosive allegations. Former Meta executive turned whistleblower Sarah Wynn-Williams testified before the U.S. Senate, accusing the company of working “hand in glove with Beijing.” She claimed that Meta executives undermined U.S. national security in a bid to win favor with the Chinese Communist Party, going as far as calling it a betrayal of American values.
Wynn-Williams, who served as Meta’s director of global policy from 2017, also claimed that she witnessed the company’s secretive efforts to build an $18 billion business in China despite national security concerns. Her damning testimony, which included remarks about Mark Zuckerberg’s personal involvement, is likely to resurface during the trial.
Meta’s Defense: “Defies Reality”
Meta has pushed back hard against the allegations. Company spokesperson Christopher Sgro dismissed the FTC’s lawsuit as baseless, saying it “defies reality.” Sgro noted that Meta’s platforms—Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp—compete directly with other tech giants like TikTok, YouTube, X (formerly Twitter), and iMessage.
“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,” he said.
Meta plans to argue that both Instagram and WhatsApp have flourished under its ownership. According to Meta, Instagram became a global phenomenon only after receiving financial and technical support from Facebook. The company is expected to present evidence showing that users have benefitted from the enhancements Meta introduced to both platforms.
Zuckerberg’s Own Words May Come Back to Haunt Him
Despite Meta’s robust defense strategy, legal experts say that the FTC may have a compelling case—particularly if they use Mark Zuckerberg’s own emails and internal communications against him. Rebecca Haw Allensworth, a professor of antitrust law at Vanderbilt University, noted that Zuckerberg once wrote, “It’s better to buy than to compete,” referring to Instagram.
“That’s a very literal admission of the strategy behind the acquisition,” Allensworth explained. “The FTC’s argument is the acquisition of Instagram was a way of neutralizing this rising competitive threat to Facebook.”
Zuckerberg is expected to be a key witness during the trial, along with other Meta executives, including Sheryl Sandberg and Instagram chief Adam Mosseri. The trial will also examine whether Zuckerberg used his reported connections with former President Donald Trump to influence the FTC into dropping the case—an accusation Meta has denied.
High-Stakes Trial with Broad Implications
The case, which began during Trump’s first term, has evolved into a defining moment for U.S. antitrust policy in the digital era. Prasad Krishnamurthy, a law professor at UC Berkeley, told CNBC that the trial will “test the boundaries of antitrust laws related to corporate acquisitions.”
“It’s a big case because it involves one of the most important markets in the world—the social media market,” Krishnamurthy said. “It has big implications for something that consumers use as part of their daily life.”
Although the FTC originally approved the Instagram and WhatsApp acquisitions, it has now reversed course, arguing that it underestimated the long-term impact of those deals. In 2021, the case was dismissed due to insufficient evidence that Meta held monopolistic power. However, a revised complaint was allowed to proceed in 2022, setting the stage for this pivotal courtroom battle.
At the heart of the FTC’s lawsuit is a potential order that could compel Meta to divest Instagram and WhatsApp—essentially undoing two of the biggest tech mergers in history. While such a breakup would be unprecedented, it’s not entirely out of reach, especially if the court finds that Meta knowingly acquired these companies to suppress competition.
Legal scholars believe that Meta will fight any attempt to dismantle its empire tooth and nail. “They’ll say the real question is: are consumers better off as a result of this merger?” Allensworth said. “They’ll put on a lot of evidence that Instagram became what it is today because it was owned by Facebook.”
The FTC v. Meta trial is more than a legal showdown—it’s a referendum on Big Tech’s power, influence, and accountability. As Zuckerberg prepares to defend his empire, the trial’s outcome could define how U.S. regulators handle tech monopolies for decades to come. If the court rules in the FTC’s favor, it may signal a new era of aggressive antitrust enforcement—and leave Meta scrambling to rebuild its once-unshakable dominance.
