Big Win, Meta Escapes The Threat Of Separation With Instagram And WhatsApp

Meta escaped the FTC antitrust lawsuit (photo: dock. Meta)

JAKARTA Meta managed to escape the pressure to sell two of its major platforms, namely Instagram and WhatsApp. Based on the decision of the US judge, Meta did not monopolize because it had the two platforms.

With the issuance of this decision, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) failed to separate Meta from Instagram and WhatsApp. The agency previously accused Meta of running a 'buy or grave' scheme against its competitors on the market.

"Although Meta has enjoyed monopoly power in the past or not, the agency (FTC) must show that they still hold that power to date. Today's court ruling stipulates that the FTC did not," Boasberg said, quoted via Business Insider on Wednesday, November 19.

US district judge James Boasberg issued this ruling after the Meta antitrust trial ended in May. In his decision, Boasberg also stated that this lawsuit was irrelevant because the social media competition was actually very strong at this time.

"The landscape that existed only five years ago when the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed an antitrust lawsuit has drastically changed," Boasberg said.

Boasberg had mentioned TikTok's presence. This popular video platform under ByteDance is said to have sparked competition in the social networking market. This fact made Boasberg criticize the FTC for failing to take into account other platforms.

"Even though YouTube doesn't interfere, including TikTok alone has already defeated the FTC lawsuit," explained Boasberg. This decision is a victory for Meta. Now, the company's revenue will not be threatened because of the insistence on Instagram and WhatsApp divestment.

Jennifer Newstead, Head of Meta Legal Affairs, previously responded to the lawsuit. According to Newstead, the FTC lawsuit was baseless because it seemed like it wanted to break up Meta. In fact, this platform is centered in America.

"It doesn't make sense for the FTC to try to divide the great American company, while the government is trying to save China's TikTok (by continuing to hold back divestment rules and negotiate with the local government)," Newstead said.