Meta’s antitrust battle over Instagram and WhatsApp finally hits the courtroom
If the courts rule in favour of the FTC, Meta might have to give up some of its social platforms.
Meta’s in hot water–again! This time, Meta's CEO Mark Zuckerberg is on the witness stand of an FTC antitrust case defending two of the company's most significant tech acquisitions: Instagram and WhatsApp.
At the heart of the case is a familiar question: Did Meta buy Instagram in 2012 (and WhatsApp in 2014) to improve its services or to squash the competition before they became a real threat?
Taking things back, the water has technically been boiling for Meta for a while, since the days when it was still called Facebook, in fact. Concerns about its market dominance have been brewing for over a decade, with regulators raising eyebrows as the company snapped up promising rivals.
The FTC first sued in 2020, accusing Meta (formerly Facebook) of violating antitrust laws by using a “buy or bury” approach to eliminate threats and protect its empire. To the FTC, Instagram and WhatsApp weren’t just smart purchases, they were power moves to lock down the future of social media before anyone else had a chance.
Zuckerberg claims it was about innovation. Instagram had better camera features and a user-friendly interface that Facebook admired. He’s sticking to the narrative that buying Instagram was a way to build on a great product, not eliminate a rival.
But the FTC isn’t buying it. They’re pointing to a string of emails where Zuck talked about “neutralising” Instagram and worrying about how far ahead the app had grown. The email also referenced Facebook's Messenger, which Mr Zuckerberg wrote wasn't "beating WhatsApp." The company acquired WhatsApp two years later.
The underlying argument is that Meta didn’t want to compete. It wanted to dominate.
The stakes are huge. If the court rules in favour of the FTC, Meta might have to spin off its Family of Apps (Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp), which generated $162.4 billion, or 98.7% of Meta’s revenue in 2024. With Instagram and WhatsApp generating $49.8 billion and $31.5 billion, respectively, this could be a stab in the gut for Meta. It could also shake up the entire social media landscape.
Meta argues that it still faces tough competition from TikTok, YouTube, and X, but the FTC argues its 'buy or bury' strategy stifles smaller rivals. And with , reporting Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube as the top three earners—$80.7B, $49.8B, and $31.5B, respectively—that’s a hard claim to defend.
Whether or not the breakup happens, this trial could redefine how tech giants are allowed to scale in the future, and it might finally draw the line between smart acquisitions and anti-competitive power plays.
Kelechi Edeh
