Overview
- U.S. District Judge James Boasberg ruled the FTC failed to prove Meta currently holds a social‑media monopoly, rejecting a forced divestiture of Instagram and WhatsApp.
- A transformed competitive landscape, including TikTok and YouTube, was central to the judge’s finding that Meta lacks monopoly power in the relevant market.
- The FTC’s case, first filed in December 2020 and later expanded with market‑share data, could continue through appeals that may take years.
- In a separate ruling in Madrid, a commercial court ordered Meta to pay €479 million plus more than €60 million in statutory interest to 87 Spanish online publishers and agencies for GDPR‑related unfair advertising advantages.
- The Spanish court said Meta earned nearly €5.3 billion from online ads in Spain during the infringement period; Meta disputes the claims and plans to appeal, while similar actions are pending in France and from Spanish broadcasters.