The Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) antitrust trial against Meta Platforms Inc. commenced on April 14, 2025, in Washington, D.C. This trial follows a nearly six-year investigation into whether Meta’s acquisitions of Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014 were strategic moves to eliminate competition and maintain monopoly power in the social media market.
The FTC alleges that Meta employed a “buy or bury” strategy, acquiring potential competitors to neutralize threats to its dominance. Evidence includes internal communications, such as a 2012 email from CEO Mark Zuckerberg expressing that purchasing Instagram would “neutralize a potential competitor.”
Meta contends that its acquisitions have benefited consumers by enhancing the services and that the social media landscape remains competitive, citing platforms like TikTok and YouTube as significant rivals. The company argues that the FTC’s case relies on a narrow definition of the social media market. citeturn0news10
The trial is expected to last several weeks, with key witnesses including Mark Zuckerberg, former COO Sheryl Sandberg, and Instagram head Adam Mosseri. Should the court find Meta in violation of antitrust laws, remedies could include the divestiture of Instagram and WhatsApp, marking a significant shift in the regulation of technology conglomerates.
The wild card in this situation could be Donald Trump himself. In his first term as president, Trump threatened to put Zuckerberg in jail. In the second term, Zuckerberg has tried to mend fences, ponying up a 1 million dollar contribution to Trump’s inauguration and settling Trump’s outstanding lawsuit by paying Trump 25 million dollars.
But if he plans to intervene, Trump has not yet told the head of the FTC. FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson has said his lawyers are “raring to go” against Meta. He has also said he would “obey lawful orders” from the president.
As always, what happens next is anyone’s guess.
