Overview
- U.S. District Judge James Boasberg ruled the FTC failed to prove Meta currently holds monopoly power in the relevant market.
- Including TikTok (and, in the opinion, also YouTube) as competitors defeated the agency’s theory, so the court declined to order a breakup of Instagram and WhatsApp.
- The ruling emphasized Section 13(b) requires proof of ongoing or imminent violations, which the court said the FTC did not establish.
- Empirical time‑use data showed users shift attention to TikTok and YouTube, with Americans viewing friends’ posts only about 17% of the time on Facebook and 7% on Instagram.
- Meta said the decision recognizes intense competition, and the FTC said it is reviewing options, a setback widely seen for the broader antitrust push against Big Tech.