FTC V. Meta Trial: Instagram and WhatsApp future at stake

The trial of the US Federal Trade Committee against Dead It begins in Washington, DC on Monday, where the technology giant is fighting to avoid the joining of Instagram and WhatsApp. FTC claims that Meta illegally gained startups in an attempt Future of the competition.

Meta (then Facebook) bought the start of Instagram to exchange photos for a billion dollars in 2012. After about two years, the company extracted the WhatsApp chat tool for about $ 22 billion.

FTC, one of the anti -monopoly enforcement agencies in the country. Judge James Pacpring wants to hold the technology giant responsible for the implementation of these huge deals Illegally preserving social media monopoly. Boasberg has called for the recovery of competition by requesting the definition to Sell ​​its precious assets. A victory for the government can deter major technology companies to obtain startups in the future, which leads to a major source of innovation and investment returns for adventure capitalists.

The initial experience can last up to 37 days, as it is covered in early July. If necessary, the trial will be followed to take a decision on the penalties next year. It may take appeals in any provisions of additional years to solve them. So WhatsApp and Instagram are not sold any time soon. But the possibility of losing valuable properties helps to explain the cause of Mark Zuckerberg It is said A deal was explored at the last minute with President Donald Trump and White House officials to avoid a battle in court. To date, these efforts appear unsuccessful.

Here is what to expect with the start of the trial.

What is the FTC?

First, FTC must prove that Facebook has a long monopoly on “providing personal social media services in the United States”, ” According to her lawsuit. The Facebook category includes a monopoly of services like Snapchat and unknown unknown MysteriousBut significantly excludes YouTube, Tiktok and other platforms that FTC believe more to watch videos by creators more than family and friends follow. From 2012 to 2020, Facebook led more than 80 percent of the time users per year in this narrow -specific market.

Second, it must be shown to the competition in the social media market. Soon from the start of the Instagram and WhatsApp talks, Facebook is afraid of the threats posed by the startups posed by their monopoly, according to the case. Quoting emails between Zuckerberg and other executives– Similar to Zuckerberg Writing once “It is better to buy from competition” – FTC claims that the company decided to buy emerging competitors for more time to know its application development strategy. “Unable to maintain its monopoly through competition somewhat, the company’s executive officials took the existential threat by buying new innovators who were succeeding where Facebook failed,” the case claims.

FTC claims After purchasing Instagram and WhatsApp, Facebook had fewer applications in the wake of it and get rid of providing less data for users and more vehicles with animals and advertisers. The deals also sent a message to competitors: The companies trying to overcome Facebook independently will not be able to reach a large extent, says FTC. This strangled another competition, according to the lawsuit.

What do you want FTC?

The committee wants to restore competition, including perhaps by getting Meta Dripest Instagram and WhatsApp. This can be catastrophic for Meta, which depends on Instagram for a large part of the advertising revenue –About 50 percent or more in the United States. Other measures can include preventing definition from completing similar deals in the future.

What is a dead defense?

The company’s basic argument is that the committee defines the market very narrowly. Meta argues that a variety of social applications including TIKTOK and YouTube largely competitors on Facebook. Add it to this mix, and it is no longer possible to look at Facebook as a monopoly, the company says.

If this argument does not lead to an immediate victory for the dead, then its other main disagreement is that FTC has not been able to prove that consumers and advertisers are worse due to the company’s ownership of Instagram and WhatsApp – which is seen as a condition for FTC. Meta said that the applications will not become successful as they are today without their restrictions. “FTC must prove that consumers will have more (or better) options without acquisitions,” the company’s lawyer. He wrote in court papers last week. “Meta provides with respect that FTC will not be able to provide any evidence to satisfy its burden.”