A landmark anti-competition trial has begun in the United States which could force social media giant Facebook (now Meta) to sell Instagram and WhatsApp.
The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has sought a permanent injunction and other equitable relief against Facebook “to undo and prevent its anti-competitive conduct and unfair methods of competition in or affecting commerce”.
The social networking platform, which has more than three billion regular users, bought Instagram in 2012, and WhatsApp in 2014, and would seek to acquire competitive threats unless enjoined, the FTC claims.
“(But) not content with attracting and retaining users through competition on the merits, Facebook has maintained its monopoly position by buying up companies that present competitive threats and by imposing restrictive policies that unjustifiably hinder actual or potential rivals that Facebook does not or cannot acquire,” the complaint says.
“After identifying two significant competitive threats to its dominant position – Instagram and WhatsApp – Facebook moved to squelch those threats by buying the companies, reflecting CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s view, expressed in a 2008 email, that ‘it is better to buy than compete’.”
The FTC said Facebook had, for many years, “continued to engage in a course of anticompetitive conduct with the aim of suppressing, neutralising, and deterring” opponents.
It seeks orders including that Facebook divests assets including Instagram and/or WhatsApp to restore competition; that it must seek approval for future acquisitions and mergers; and that it files periodic compliance reports with the FTC.
The trial in Washington could run for several weeks.
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