Meta will face a trial by the FTC that could break up Instagram and WhatsApp.

Meta will face a trial from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) that could result in the separation of Instagram and WhatsApp. A judge from the District of Columbia has decided that the FTC's antitrust case will proceed, where the agency accuses Meta of having acquired these platforms to suppress competition in the social media industry.

The lawsuit was filed by the FTC in 2020, stating that Meta bought rivals like Instagram and WhatsApp with the aim of reducing competition. In 2021, Judge James Boasberg initially dismissed the lawsuit, but after the FTC filed a modified complaint, he allowed the case to continue. Despite Meta's request to dismiss the case in April, Boasberg has largely ruled in favor of the FTC, although he dismissed a claim that indicated Meta acted anticompetitively by restricting access to its API for developers who would not agree to not compete with its apps.

In response to this decision, a spokesperson for Meta, Christopher Sgro, commented that the company is "confident" that the trial will demonstrate that its acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp benefit consumers. Sgro mentioned that, more than ten years after the FTC reviewed and approved these transactions, and despite evidence showing that its services compete with platforms like YouTube, TikTok, X, and Apple's iMessage, the Commission continues to incorrectly assert that no deal is truly final and that companies can be penalized for innovating.

Although the antitrust lawsuit was filed during the administration of elected President Donald Trump, it is anticipated that his upcoming administration will take a more lenient approach to mergers and acquisitions, which is garnering the attention of large corporations. Meta and other tech sector leaders have already begun reaching out to Trump, who is expected to replace the current FTC chair, Lina Khan.