Overview
- U.S. District Judge James Boasberg ruled on Nov. 18 that the FTC failed to prove Meta currently holds an illegal monopoly in social networking.
- The decision allows Meta to retain Instagram and WhatsApp after the FTC sought divestiture as a remedy.
- Boasberg’s opinion cites a changed competitive landscape and finds Meta’s services sufficiently substitutable with TikTok and YouTube.
- The suit, filed in December 2020, followed an earlier dismissal and a refiling that added market-share data yet did not meet the burden of showing present monopoly power.
- The government can appeal, leaving the case’s broader implications for tech antitrust enforcement unresolved for now.