Background information
7 questions and 7 answers on the Meta trial
by Samuel Buchmann
No social media monopoly: Zuckerberg can keep Insta
19.11.2025
Translation: machine translated
A US court dismisses the monopoly lawsuit against Meta. Competition from TikTok and YouTube convinced the judge - Instagram and WhatsApp remain with the group.
The technology group Meta, which owns Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram, has achieved an important victory in a federal district court in Washington. The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) accused Meta of gaining an unfair advantage in the social networking market by acquiring Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014. According to the authority, Meta controls too many large platforms and thus influences competition. The FTC therefore wanted to ensure that Meta had to sell at least one of these networks again. Meta refuted the allegations. The company explained that other social networks are strong enough to provide sufficient competition.
TikTok and YouTube justify the Metaverse
Judge James Boasberg agreed with this view. He said that the FTC was defining the market too narrowly and leaving out important competitors. TikTok in particular is fundamentally changing competition in the social media sector. The app has been gaining many users for years and is taking a lot of attention away from Meta. YouTube also plays a role because many people share content there and communicate with each other. According to the judge, TikTok alone is enough to refute the claim of a meta-monopoly.
However, the FTC did not accept this view and argued that Meta reaches particularly young target groups via several platforms at the same time. The judge countered that the industry had changed significantly since the takeovers. Short videos, new formats and other services had strongly influenced user behaviour. Although Meta has large platforms, competition remains intense.
Source: Shutterstock
Meta expressed relief at the decision. For the FTC, on the other hand, the judgement is a setback, as it wanted to use this case to show that big tech companies need to be more limited.
What happens next?
Even outside of this case, authorities are continuing to investigate the power of large technology companies. Proceedings are also underway against Alphabet (Google), Apple and Amazon. The regulators want to examine whether these companies exert too much influence on their markets and whether new rules are needed.
In its reasoning, the court explained that people use social networks much more flexibly today than in the past. They try out new platforms, switch quickly between different suppliers and are less likely to stay with just one service for long periods of time. Under these conditions, the court does not see Meta as having a dominant market position that jeopardises competition. This ends the FTC's demand to break up Meta or force the company to sell Instagram or WhatsApp for the time being. Meta is allowed to keep both services.
Header image: Shutterstock
I've been tinkering with digital networks ever since I found out how to activate both telephone channels on the ISDN card for greater bandwidth. As for the analogue variety, I've been doing that since I learned to talk. Though Winterthur is my adoptive home city, my heart still bleeds red and blue.
News + Trends
From the latest iPhone to the return of 80s fashion. The editorial team will help you make sense of it all.
Show all1 comment
later