The landmark antitrust trial against Meta Platforms, Inc. continues on April 15, 2025, with CEO Mark Zuckerberg returning to the witness stand in a federal courtroom in Washington, D.C., to face rigorous questioning from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The FTC accuses Meta of illegally monopolizing the “personal social networking market” by acquiring Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014, alleging these purchases were part of a “buy-or-bury” strategy to eliminate competition and cement Meta’s dominance in a market defined by connections with family and friends. Zuckerberg, who testifies for seven hours on the trial’s first day, argues on April 14 that Meta faces robust competition from platforms like TikTok, YouTube, X, and iMessage, rejecting the FTC’s narrow market definition. He emphasizes that Facebook has evolved into a broader “discovery entertainment space,” focusing less on friend connections and more on third-party content through features like the News Feed and Groups. Today, the FTC is expected to press Zuckerberg on internal emails and communications, including a 2012 memo where he discusses “neutralizing” Instagram as a potential competitor, which FTC lawyer Daniel Matheson calls a “smoking gun” during opening statements.
The trial, presided over by U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg, marks the first major antitrust case of President Donald Trump’s second term and could reshape Meta’s $1.3 trillion advertising empire. The FTC seeks to force Meta to divest Instagram and WhatsApp, arguing that unwinding these acquisitions—approved by the FTC over a decade ago—would restore competition and benefit consumers by fostering a more vibrant social media landscape. Matheson highlights on April 14 that Meta’s dominance leads to degraded user experiences, pointing to increased ads and privacy lapses, such as the Cambridge Analytica scandal, where a political consulting firm improperly accessed millions of users’ data. He argues that without competitive pressure, Meta invests less in improving its services. Meta counters that its acquisitions enhance user experience, with attorney Mark Hansen stating on April 14 that “acquisitions to improve and grow” have never been deemed unlawful. Meta’s defense also cites a 2021 outage, during which TikTok and YouTube see user increases of 11% and 8%, respectively, as evidence of a competitive market where Meta holds less than 20% of total social media time spent.
The trial’s stakes are heightened by recent whistleblower allegations that surface last week. On April 9, former Meta executive Sarah Wynn-Williams testifies before the U.S. Senate, claiming Meta provides user data to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) as part of an effort to win favor with the Chinese government. Wynn-Williams alleges she witnesses executives “repeatedly undermine U.S. national security and betray American values,” accusing Meta of lying to shareholders, employees, and Congress about its dealings with the CCP. Meta strongly denies these claims, with a spokesperson calling them “divorced from reality.” The allegations fuel public and regulatory scrutiny, with posts on X reflecting outrage, such as one user noting the testimony aligns with expectations of Meta’s unethical practices. This controversy adds pressure on Zuckerberg as he navigates the antitrust trial, with some speculating that his recent efforts to curry favor with President Trump—through meetings, inauguration contributions, and policy shifts—may be an attempt to mitigate these mounting legal challenges.
The FTC’s case, filed on December 8, 2020, with support from 46 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and Guam, has a tumultuous history. Initially dismissed in June 2021 by Judge Boasberg for insufficient evidence, the FTC refiles an amended complaint in August 2021, which survives Meta’s motions to dismiss in January 2022 and April 2024. Boasberg rules on November 13, 2024, that the case must proceed to trial, though he expresses skepticism about the FTC’s narrow market definition, noting in November that the agency “faces hard questions about whether its claims can hold up in the crucible of trial.” Legal experts like Paul Swanson of Holland & Hart highlight on April 15 that while the FTC persuades Boasberg there are questions of fact, the judge remains concerned that the “personal social networking market” definition excludes platforms like LinkedIn, potentially weakening the FTC’s monopoly argument. Rebecca Haw Allensworth, a Vanderbilt Law School professor, notes on April 14 that Zuckerberg’s own emails, where he states it’s “better to buy than compete,” provide strong evidence of anticompetitive intent, though proving Meta’s monopoly power remains the FTC’s biggest challenge.
The trial, expected to last up to eight weeks, will feature testimony from high-profile witnesses, including former Meta COO Sheryl Sandberg, Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom, and executives from TikTok, Snap, and YouTube. The outcome could set a precedent for antitrust enforcement against Big Tech, following recent cases against Google—where a federal judge declares it an illegal monopoly in online search in August 2024—and Amazon. A win for the FTC could force Meta to divest Instagram, which generates over half of Meta’s U.S. ad revenue at $37.13 billion in 2025, according to Emarketer, potentially reshaping the social media landscape. However, Meta argues that such a breakup would harm innovation and advantage competitors like Chinese-owned TikTok, a sentiment echoed in their statement: “Regulators should be supporting American innovation, rather than seeking to break up a great American company and further advantaging China on critical issues like AI.”
Breaking news updates as of 12:34 PM PDT on April 15 reveal Zuckerberg’s testimony today focuses heavily on the Instagram acquisition, with the FTC presenting emails showing Zuckerberg’s intent to buy Instagram due to its superior camera features, a concession Zuckerberg makes on the stand, admitting Instagram’s technology is “better” than what Facebook develops at the time. Posts on X from users like @jason_kint note that the FTC lands a significant blow with these documents, describing them as “damning” evidence of Meta’s strategy to suppress competition. The trial also coincides with broader regulatory scrutiny of Big Tech, with the Department of Justice’s remedy phase against Google set to begin on April 21, potentially requiring Google to divest its Chrome browser. The FTC’s case against Meta, initially filed during Trump’s first term and pursued under Biden’s FTC chair Lina Khan, now tests the agency’s direction under Trump-appointed chair Andrew Ferguson, who signals readiness to follow Trump’s orders, raising questions about potential White House intervention.
Meta’s history with antitrust scrutiny begins long before this trial. The company faces criticism for its market dominance since the early 2010s, with the Instagram and WhatsApp acquisitions drawing particular attention. The 2012 purchase of Instagram for $1 billion, considered an overpayment at the time, and the 2014 acquisition of WhatsApp for $19 billion, are initially cleared by the FTC but later become the centerpiece of the agency’s allegations. The Cambridge Analytica scandal in 2018, exposing Meta’s lax privacy practices, further erodes public trust, a point the FTC leverages to argue that Meta’s monopoly harms consumers through degraded privacy protections. Zuckerberg’s recent efforts to align with Trump, including policy shifts on content moderation and elevating Republicans within Meta, reflect a strategic pivot to avoid a breakup, though experts like Barry Barnett of Susman Godfrey doubt a settlement is likely given the case’s extensive preparation. As the trial unfolds, the future of Meta—and the broader tech industry—hangs in the balance, with implications for competition, innovation, and consumer choice in the digital age.
Sources:
- Video: [Meta Antitrust Trial Underway]
- Web sources: npr.org, en.wikipedia.org, washingtonpost.com, bbc.com, axios.com, cnn.com, finance.yahoo.com, abcnews.go.com, dw.com, apnews.com, politico.com, huffpost.com, cnbc.com, adweek.com, theinformation.com, cbsnews.com, nytimes.com, reuters.com, pbs.org, bloomberg.com
- Posts on X reflecting public sentiment and updates
