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A federal judge has decided that an antitrust lawsuit against Meta, brought by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), can proceed to trial.

Let’s bring you up to speed: Back in 2020, the FTC filed an antitrust lawsuit against Meta, arguing that the company’s acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp were deliberate moves to eliminate potential rivals and secure a monopoly in the social media market. The FTC claims that instead of competing through innovation, Meta overpaid for these platforms to neutralize emerging threats, which the agency says undermines competition and limits consumer choice. This lawsuit is part of a broader regulatory push to rein in Big Tech.

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What’s going on now: Despite Meta’s attempts to dismiss the case, US District Judge James Boasberg ruled that the FTC’s antitrust lawsuit against the company can proceed to trial, allowing the central claims regarding Meta’s acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp to move forward. While the judge dismissed one portion of the case, he upheld the FTC’s core allegations that Meta used these acquisitions to suppress competition and maintain a monopoly in social networking.

Boasberg scheduled a virtual status conference for later this month to discuss trial dates and stated that a full opinion explaining his reasoning would be released after redactions of any confidential business information.

Meta reacts: In a statement, a spokesman for Meta said, “We are confident that the evidence at trial will show that the acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp have been good for competition and consumers. More than 10 years after the FTC reviewed and cleared these deals, and despite the overwhelming evidence that our services compete with YouTube, TikTok, X, Apple’s iMessage, and many others, the Commission is wrongly continuing to assert that no deal is ever truly final, and businesses can be punished for innovating.”

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