FTC’s Antitrust Case Against Meta’s Acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp

Investments
21

Instagram cofounder Kevin Systrom confirms earlier reports that said Zuckerberg saw Instagram as a “threat”

  • In his testimony today, Instagram cofounder Kevin Systrom said the app could have succeeded without being acquired by Meta Platforms.
  • He pointed out that CEO Zuckerberg eventually viewed Instagram as a “threat” to Facebook and starved it of resources.
  • As pointed out earlier, Systrom’s revelations could bolster FTC’s case against Meta by signaling that it stifled the growth of Instagram.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-04-22/instagram-s-systrom-claims-app-could-have-thrived-without-meta

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22

FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson confirmed there were settlement negotiations, said he thinks they are going to win

  • FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson said he thinks the case against Meta is going great and that they are going to win (min 3:59).

  • When asked if what they are doing won’t send a bad precedence for businesses, he says that Meta is different and that can be seen from what happened in 2020, where it showed how much power it has (min 4:55).

  • He confirmed that there were settlement negotiations but said he feels there is a need to see the case through for the American consumers (min 8:33).

    “We had. It’s a big case. There’s always settlement negotiations. There were settlement negotiations. But I think it’s very important in order to protect American consumers that we see this case through. And that’s why we’re in the second week of trial,” he said.

    “Settlement negotiations are always complicated, but my main goal was protecting American consumers. If that could be done with a settlement, that would be great. And if it couldn’t, we go to trial and we’re at trial,” he added.

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23

Judge Boasberg signals openness to Meta’s argument on evolving user behavior

During an exchange with an FTC expert last week, judge Boasberg remarked that user behavior and online norms evolve over time. This comment may indicate that he is open to Meta’s core argument—that the social media landscape has changed significantly since Instagram and WhatsApp were acquired—and that competition today is broader than the FTC’s narrow market definition suggests.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-04-29/meta-ftc-spar-at-trial-over-what-defines-a-social-network

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24

Judge Boasberg declined to end the FTC case early, saying the FTC’s evidence was adequate to proceed under the law

  • Yesterday, judge Boasberg declined to end the trial early, saying the FTC’s evidence was adequate to proceed under the law.
  • In his ruling from the bench, he indicated that Meta had not shown an obvious fatal gap in the FTC’s case that would justify a judgment in Meta’s favor without fully hearing all evidence.
  • Meta had asked judge Boasberg to end the trial early since the FTC had failed to prove its accusations.

Assessment
While Judge Boasberg’s decision may indicate that the evidence presented by Meta has not enabled him to reach a conclusion, it could also suggest that he wants to ensure both sides have a fair opportunity during the trial. Therefore, this ruling may not necessarily inform his final decision.

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25

FTC drops case against Microsoft’s $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, citing public interest

  • Yesterday, the FTC dropped a case that sought to block Microsoft’s $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard in 2023.

    “The Commission has determined that the public interest is best served by dismissing the administrative litigation in this case. Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the Complaint in this matter be, and it hereby is, DISMISSED,” the FTC said in a statement.

Assessment
In my opinion, citing “public interest” lowers the downside risk for Meta if it were to lose the case since a break-up would be devastating to businesses.

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