Meta Hits Back As FTC Antitrust Trial To Undo Instagram & WhatsApp Purchase Begins

If there’s something strange in your neighborhood, where you gonna go? Social media!

Today’s world is driven by social media—it’s neither a secret nor a surprise.

People are spoiled for choice when it comes to the options of social media platforms available to them. This includes giants such as YouTube, X (formerly Twitter), TikTok, Snapchat, and more.

However, the chief among them are three names—Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp—that have become synonymous not just with social media but also with the functions they offer.

“Why don’t you just Facebook me?”

“I’m just going to Instagram this sunset!”

“Yeah, I’ll just WhatsApp you the details.”

What’s interesting is that all three platforms are owned and operated by Meta.

Meta was originally called Facebook, as that was the company’s original product. The others? It was acquired to eliminate any potential rivalry that could grow into a serious threat in the future and hamper its growth—as per the United States’ Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

Meta, or Facebook as it was known then, bought Instagram in April 2012 for $1 billion and WhatsApp in February 2014 for a whopping $19 billion. Facebook’s rebranding to Meta came about on October 28, 2021.

Ironically, the very same FTC cleared the acquisitions back when they were completed.

Now, over a decade later, the FTC is saying it got that approval wrong and wants to revisit this decision, claiming that Meta purchased these platforms to avoid future competition and complications in the industry, taking the social media giant to court in an antitrust lawsuit.

The FTC floated these anticompetitive allegations and the idea to redo the approval in 2020—the trial commenced on Monday (April 14, 2025).

As such, the FTC is looking to make Meta sell Instagram and WhatsApp or restructure, as the regulatory body claims the only valid competition faced by Meta comes from Snapchat and an app called MeWe.

Of course, Meta wasn’t having this. The company hit back with a crisp, critical, and somewhat comedic news release on its website in support of evidence in the lawsuit.

“The evidence at trial will show what every 17-year-old in the world knows: Instagram competes with TikTok (and YouTube and X and many other apps),” read an excerpt from the release.

This also came with an image depicting Meta’s share of time spent by users on its platform against its competitors—probably the only time Meta will be happy saying users prefer its rivals’ platforms. The image compared time spent by adding only YouTube and TikTok to the list that already had Snapchat and MeWe.


Considering the news release was penned by Meta’s Chief Legal Officer, Jennifer Newstead, and titled “The FTC’s Weak Case Against Meta Ignores Reality,” it’s no surprise that the release consisted of a long list of how the FTC is wrong in its crusade.

Meta claims that the billions of dollars and millions of hours it has invested in Instagram and WhatsApp are what have made them into the experiences people love today.

This includes adding features such as in-app messaging, live streaming, Stories and Reels for Instagram, and voice and video calling, status, channels, and end-to-end encryption for WhatsApp. Meta also highlighted that it was responsible for evolving WhatsApp from its original paid-subscription model to a free, secure, and reliable messaging service that empowers over two billion users.

Recently, Meta also introduced new built-in restrictions for Instagram teen accounts and expanded these safety features to Facebook and Messenger. The new features will prevent teens under 16 from going Live or turning off protections from unwanted images in DM without a parent’s permission, among other improvements. Meta has already racked up plenty of miles in the court for its role in intentionally making social media addictive to children.

Getting back to the case at hand:

“This case, an unprecedented exercise in revisionist history, sends the message that no deal is ever final and that businesses operating in America will be punished for innovating,” said Meta.

“Ultimately, an ill-conceived lawsuit like this will make companies think twice before investing in innovation, knowing they may be punished if that innovation leads to success. On top of it, this weak case is costing taxpayers millions of dollars.”

To add to this, CEO Mark Zuckerberg took to the stand on Monday, where he highlighted that a move to prioritize content shared by a user’s friends or connections didn’t go over well with Facebook users. Instead, users were opting to interact with content based on their interests—Zuckerberg estimated 20% of content on Facebook and 10% on Instagram was generated by users’ friends, with the rest coming from interests.

The lawsuit comes as President Donald Trump promised a crackdown on Big Tech, which began in his first term.

Do you think the FTC has a point in challenging Meta’s anticompetitive practices, or should it drop the lawsuit, considering it had reviewed and approved the deals over a decade ago?

Let us know in the comments below!