A court against antitrust law Meta can force Zuckerberg to sell Instagram

A court trial on a landmark case against the social media giant will start in Washington on Monday.

American competition and consumer guards claim that Meta already owned Facebook, bought Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014 to exclude competition, effectively giving himself a monopoly.

The FTC considered and approved these acquisitions, but pledged to follow the results. If the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) wins the case, it may force Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to sell both Instagram and WhatsApp.

Earlier, Meta said he was sure that it would win, and the experts said the BBC, which probably claimed that Instagram users had the best experience from the moment of its taking.

“The argument (FTC) – This acquisition of Instagram has been a way of neutralizing this increasing competitive threat to Facebook,” says Rebecca Holnsworth, Professor of Antimonopol Law at Vanderbilt’s law school.

Ms Ahlansworth says that the words of Zuckerberg, including his emails, can offer the most convincing evidence in court.

“He said it is better to buy than to compete. It’s hard to get more literally,” says Ms Allenwort.

Meta, on the other hand, may say that the intention is not particularly relevant in the antitrust case.

“They are going to say that the real question is: is it better consumers as a result of this merger?” She said. “They will wear a lot of evidence that Instagram has become today because he used the proper Facebook.”

Mr. Zuckerberg and former chief operative director of the company Sandberg are expected to testify in a court that can work for several weeks.

The right, FTC V Meta, was filed during the first US Presidential Administration, Donald Trump, but risks becoming politicized during his second term.

G -n Zuckerberg personally lobbied Trump to FTC abandoned the case According to the Wall Street Journal magazine.

At the request of the BBC to confirm this report, Meta went towards the question, but said in a statement: “FTC lawsuits against Meta are not true.”

“More than 10 years after the FTC has considered and cleaned our acquisitions, the commission’s action in this case sends a message that no deal is really ultimate,” Meta’s BBC said.

Relations between Mr. Zuckerberg and Trump were frosty In part, because Trump was banned from the Meta Social Media Platforms after the American Capitol riot in January 2021.

Since then, the relationship has been somewhat thawed.

Meta contribution $ 1 million (£ 764400) in Trump’s inaugural fund, and in January announced Final Battle Championship (UFC) Boss Dana White, a close ally Trump, join his board of directors.

Company too announced In January, he left with independent checks.

President Trump’s relocation to firing two FTC commissioners in March is also hanging in this case.

Like Democrats, Rebecca Kelly Boyle and Alvara Beda were in the minority in the commission of five places.

By Wednesday, only two places of these places, both Republicans, were filled. Another Republican was confirmed On the Senate on Thursday.

Murder and trouble – who sue the Trump administration to be restored – they say that the step to push them is intended for intimidation.

“The president sent a very clear signal not only to us, but also by the chairman of Ferguson and Commissioner (Melissa) Holioak that if they do what he disliked, he could also fire them,” Bail said in a recent BBC interview.

“So, if they do not want to benefit their political allies, they are also in the block,” Boyle said.

The murder and the trouble expressed the alarm on the latest reports on the lobbying of Zuckerberg.

“I hope there is no political intervention,” said Mr. Bedoya BBC.

FTC did not respond to the BBC comment request.

Recently Ferguson, appointed by FTC Chairman Recently Trump detach A spokesman who “obeys legitimate orders” when asked what he would do if the president refuses to refuse a trial similar to meta.

Ferguson added that it would be very surprised if anything like this.

FTC is considered a key antitrust watchdog. In recent years, he has returned hundreds of millions of dollars to victims of fraud, except for the adoption of laws that prohibit the expenses for unwanted and subscription traps.

But, as the trial method begins, this administration seems to be trying to strengthen.

The chairman of the Ferguson is also recently quoted Confirming their conviction that the independent regulatory authorities are “not good for democracy”.

The FTC V Meta begins as another major antitrust case – the US against Google – introduces what is known as the stage of funds.

The Ministry of Justice won the first stage of the case last summer when Judge Amit Macht found that Google had a monopoly on the Internet, with a market share of about 90%.

Last month doj repeated The Biden Administration’s requirement that the court broke the Google search monopoly.

The FTC case against Meta will be tougher to prove, says Laura Philips Savier, Associate Professor of the Department of Business Law at Georgia University.

“I think they have a real heavy battle,” said Mrs. Philips Savier about the FTC.

“They have a long road to consider any consideration of Instagram or WhatsApp.”

All because compared to the Internet search, in the space of a personal network in which meta service works, there is more competition, said Ms Philips Savier.

The meta in the statement states that the data in court “will show that every 17-year-old in the world knows: Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp compete with Chinese Tiktok, YouTube, X, IMessage and more.”