FTC Could Force Meta to Sell Instagram and WhatsApp

Meta is now facing a legal battle with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which could lead to the forced divestiture of Instagram and WhatsApp from the company.

A federal judge in Washington ruled on Wednesday that the FTC’s case against Meta can proceed. The lawsuit, initially filed by the FTC in 2020, accuses Meta of acquiring competitors—Instagram and WhatsApp—in order to stifle competition in the social media market. Although Judge James Boasberg dismissed the original suit in 2021, the FTC submitted a revised complaint, which the court agreed to review.

Meta sought to have the case dismissed again in April 2024, but Boasberg largely sided with the FTC, allowing most of the complaint to move forward. However, he dismissed the FTC’s claims that Meta had acted anti-competitively by restricting developers' access to its APIs, a decision Boasberg said was insufficient to prove anti-competitive intent.

In a statement to The Verge, Meta spokesperson Christopher Sgro expressed confidence that the court would ultimately affirm the consumer benefits of Meta’s acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp. Meta also emphasized that its platforms face strong competition from YouTube, TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), iMessage, and other services, indicating a highly competitive market landscape.