Tag: Meta

I Fought the Law and the … Law Lost

Federal antitrust law needs to be further defined and expanded

On Tuesday, November 18, 2025 U.S. Federal Judge James Boasberg dismissed the anti-trust case against Meta, parent company of Facebook, saying there was no “monopoly” conducted on their part.  The case centered on Meta’s previous acquisitions of What’s App and Instagram and whether this violated anti-trust federal law.

Meta

In his article entitled, “The Bad Reasoning in the Meta Antitrust Ruling Isn’t Even the Worst Part,” New York Times reporter Tim Wu writes:

The government charged that Meta, then called Facebook, broke the law when it bought its competitors Instagram and WhatsApp in 2012 and 2014. Judge Boasberg threw out the case by concluding that Meta lacks monopoly power now, when the relevant question should have been whether it had monopoly power at the time.

In my opinion, it comes down here for both sides is the law needs to exactly define what is a “monopoly.” 

Apparently Judge Boasberg was reading current federal law and concluded with what he read that Meta was not in violation.  He pointed out the existence of Tik Tok and You Tube as significant competition to Meta.  Wu mentions that we need to look at the marketplace over 10 years ago to accurately define monopoly in this case regarding What’s App and Instagram. 

History

A point that Wu seems to overlook, and I feel is relevant, is the number of acquisitions by Meta, not just a few.  According to Wikipedia, Meta has acquired just over 90 companies and has spent around $30 Billion to do so—that’s B as in Billion.

In addition, they have a history of acquiring small companies and then dissolving them and retaining their employees.  I have a previous post that highlights a 2010 YouTube video of Mark Zuckerberg stating this at an event.

Wu further states in his article:

“Does anyone seriously doubt that Meta is the kind of company that antitrust laws were designed to restrain?”

Well, if that’s the case, perhaps the “antitrust laws” need to be expanded.   They should include other criteria such as the number of acquisitions and specific monopolistic “behaviors”, such as acquiring firms and dissolving them and pursuing hostile takeovers. Convenient way to eliminate the competition, isn’t it? Is this not monopolistic behavior?

Does this make sense?  Why has it not been done up to now?  If this were enacted into law it could give other judges a clearer path towards determining and proving monopoly.  The definition specifics would need to be worked out.  It could also be used to fight private equity.

Zuckerberg May Have Meta’s Match

Meta may have tried to neutralize a potential competitor

META

The Federal Trade Commission is beginning an anti-trust suit against Meta.  This time it involves its owning What’s App and Instagram.  Their argument is a monopoly exists with owning these acquisitions, they wanted to neutralize a potential competitor, and they should be spun off.

BACKGROUND

A report on National Public Radio gives a background of the government’s case against Meta:

“The government contends that a “buy or bury” strategy propelled Meta’s acquisitions, leading Meta to gobble up competitors it viewed as threats, or to squash the rivals out of business altogether.”

It adds that an internal Meta email says they purchased Instagram to “neutralize a potential competitor” and the FTC believes this is against federal law.

The report says that Meta will summarize its argument that it is being punished for being innovative and aggressive, in other words…. successful.

According to Wikipedia, Meta/Facebook has acquired 91 companies, including What’s App and Instagram.  They have also acquired an interesting company—Onavo.  Onavo was an Israeli company in business to acquire and analyze data on a client’s competitors.  Facebook has apparently used this to track successful startups for acquisition.  The website www.onavo.com has a Facebook message that says something has gone wrong.  Facebook changed it to Facebook Israel, which promotes travel to Israel.  It has also apparently deleted numerous posts about Palestinians. 

In 2010 Facebook posted a video available on YouTube.  In it Mark Zuckerberg talks about the theory behind Facebook acquisitions.  He says that Facebook, up until then, had acquired companies not to keep the company but to acquire the talent behind it.  In other words, the owners become employees (once again) and the startup disappears.  The official line is that this is growth to them.  However, it is entirely possible to acquire good talent through direct hire, including through employee search, instead of going the acquisition route.

WHAT’S APP

According to Wikipedia What’s App was founded in 2009 by two individuals, Brian Acton and Jan Koun, previously with Yahoo! They received venture capital backing.  They sold the company to Facebook in 2014.  Acton left What’s App in 2017 over disagreements with Facebook.  Later that year he founded the competing app Signal.  Koun left the following year, also with conflicting issues with Facebook. 

ANALYSIS

FACEBOOK

There is nothing wrong with companies like Facebook/Meta with being successful.  This is Meta’s argument.  However, the end does not justify the means in this case.  Defining success through innovation – that which you started yourself from scratch – is not the same as defining it via acquisition.  And if you have acquired 91 companies, that in and of itself should warrant charges of being a monopoly.  I am not sure if people in the FTC under the Trump administration have a true anti-trust focus.  Trump supporters seem to be focused more on going after the social media apps more for suppressing freedom of speech.

SOLUTION

Breaking up the acquisitions and returning them to independent status is, IMO, a good solution.  This would return them to a position again of charting their own course. Meta will present their arguments, and some may have some weight.  It really comes down to balancing the arguments and determining which has a greater priority. 

The FTC’s argument is that Meta seeks to neutralize a potential competitor.  If judicial decisions like this fail in the courts, federal law would need to be strengthened to make the anti-trust arguments more airtight.  The law, for federal judges to agree, should be written such that it promotes what is in the best interest of the country as a whole, and not one just for individual business.