From Monopoly to Meltdown? Meta Faces the Trial of the Decade.

Meta on Trial, Instagram & WhatsApp at Risk in Antitrust Battle

Meta, the tech giant behind Facebook, is facing a make-or-break trial in Washington. The U.S. government claims Meta built a monopoly by buying out its rivals, Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014, instead of competing with them. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) now wants Meta to break up and sell off these apps.

What’s at stake? A lot. Instagram is now Meta’s biggest moneymaker in the U.S., expected to bring in over $37 billion in ad revenue this year, that's more than half of Meta’s U.S. earnings. WhatsApp, while not a big earner yet, is Meta’s most-used app globally and key to its future growth through business messaging.

Why is the FTC acting now? The FTC says Meta used a “buy-or-bury” strategy: if a competitor couldn’t be beaten, it was bought or blocked. They point to old emails from Mark Zuckerberg admitting Instagram was growing too fast and could become a serious threat.

Zuckerberg, who took the witness stand himself, defended the deals by saying they helped improve the apps and benefited users. He claims the real competition today is from TikTok, YouTube, and Snapchat, not just platforms like Instagram.

But here’s the twist, Meta is very close to former President Trump’s new administration. The company:

• Donated $1 million to Trump’s inauguration

• Rolled back content moderation policies criticized by Republicans

• Added Trump allies to its board

• Zuckerberg himself recently bought a mansion in DC to “focus on policy”

Meta’s critics say it’s lobbying hard to kill the case.

What could happen? If Meta loses, the court could force the company to sell Instagram and WhatsApp, a devastating blow. The trial is expected to continue through July. If the FTC wins, they’ll still need to go through a second phase to decide how to restore competition.

Why it matters for you: This case could reshape social media as we know it. Experts say we might see a wave of new startups and the fall of Meta’s dominance, something we haven’t witnessed since the early days of Facebook.

This is the tech trial of the decade.