Meta is facing an antitrust trial over its acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp, accused by the FTC of stifling competition. The company denies the charges, arguing its investments helped grow the platforms. The trial is expected to be lengthy with potential appeals.

An antitrust trial involving the U.S. social media giant Meta is scheduled to begin in a Washington federal court on Monday, with the company facing allegations that it acquired Instagram and WhatsApp to unlawfully eliminate competition. The trial is being led by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which is seeking to reverse Meta's acquisitions of the two platforms, made over a decade ago.

Meta, which also owns Facebook, is under scrutiny for potentially stifling competition by purchasing Instagram in 2012 for around $1 billion (€880 billion) and WhatsApp in 2014 for about $22 billion. The FTC had approved these acquisitions at the time. However, the antitrust watchdog claims that Meta used its dominant market power to acquire these platforms before they had a chance to grow into formidable competitors.

The trial is expected to be lengthy, with appeals from both sides anticipated. This legal challenge represents a significant setback for Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who had hoped that the case might be dismissed during a second term of former President Donald Trump. Trump, pursuing a largely pro-business agenda that has typically been favorable to Big Tech, was expected to be more sympathetic toward Meta's position.

The case is being overseen by Judge James Boasberg, who is also presiding over a high-profile case involving federal government orders to deport Venezuelans under a wartime law. In 2021, Boasberg ruled that the lawsuit against Meta was “legally insufficient,” but the FTC has successfully managed to bring the case to trial.

The lawsuit was initially filed against Meta—then still known as Facebook—in 2020, during Trump's first term. The U.S. government, through the FTC, alleges that Meta used its market dominance to acquire Instagram and WhatsApp to prevent them from becoming competitive threats.

Meta has strongly denied the accusations, arguing that platforms like TikTok, owned by Chinese internet company ByteDance, are providing sufficient competition in the market. The company’s defense will emphasize that substantial investments transformed Instagram and WhatsApp into major revenue-generating platforms, with Instagram, for instance, being a small-scale photo-sharing app before Meta's acquisition. Meta’s legal team will also point out that their apps are free to users, further defending the company’s business practices.

In the lead-up to the trial, Zuckerberg has explored various avenues to influence the legal outcome, including making contributions to Trump's inauguration fund and supporting policy changes related to content moderation. In January, Meta also agreed to pay Trump $25 million to settle a lawsuit he filed after his accounts were suspended by Facebook and Instagram following the U.S. Capitol riot in 2021.

Additionally, Zuckerberg, the world’s third-richest man, has purchased a multi-million-dollar mansion in Washington, D.C., a move interpreted as an attempt to remain close to the heart of U.S. political decision-making.