Does Meta have to separate from Instagram and WhatsApp? – Diepresse.com
The US competition authority wants to smash the Facebook group. The chances are not too good, but if the process starting on Monday, the meta share could put a strain on.
Did the Facebook group Meta only acquire the Instagram platforms in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014 to build a monopoly? The US competition FTC sees it that way, and now a court in Washington has to clarify the cause. In extreme cases, meta could even be forced to reverse the purchases.
Meta argues that the takeovers were approved at the time and that there are still strong competition today, for example with Tikok from Bytedance, YouTube from Google or Elon Musk Platform X. In addition, the Facebook group points out that the takeovers would have promoted innovation and have thus advised users to have an advantage.
Has meta damaged consumers?
To prove that the monopoly would have harmed consumers, the authority should not be easy, since it is free offers both with the Instagram photo platform and the WhatsApp instant service. The FTC therefore argues that the quality could be better in more competition, proof that should also not be easy to provide.
It is unlikely that the purchases actually occur, especially since these are eleven or 13 years ago and the platforms are now heavily integrated. However, if the process should drag on for years, the cause could still ensure uncertainty and strain metas share price. Meta therefore tries to reach out-of-court settlement, and also hopes for the support of US President Donald Trump.
WhatsApp purchase cost $ 19 billion
The social network Facebook was founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg and brought to the stock exchange in 2012. At the time of the IPO, the takeover of Instagram had already been announced, and it took place by one billion dollars in the same year. For WhatsApp, Zuckerberg had to put up $ 19 billion two years later: WhatsApp had 450 million users at the time and was globally set up, while Instagram was still relatively small at the time of taking over. WhatsApp was also a direct competitor of Facebook’s messenger, the market was hotly contested, and Google is also said to have been interested.
The lawsuit against Facebook was only six years later, in December 2020. Donald Trump was still in office, but had lost the election and saw himself badly treated by Facebook, which in his opinion suppressed opinions, according to which Trump had been stolen from the election victory. The climate between Trump and Zuckerberg was frosty, so that the group could not hope for any support from the president.
Relationship with Trump is now better
The first version of the lawsuit was initially dismissed because the FTC had not underpinned the monopoly accusation with numbers. The authority submitted the figures: Facebook had a market share of 80 percent on smartphones and 98 percent on the PC with its platforms from 2016 to 2020.
In the meantime, Facebook is called Meta, Trump is again president, and the relationship between him and Zuckerberg has noticeably improved. Zuckerberg was present at Trump’s inauguration in January 2025, as did Elon Musk (Tesla, SpaceX, X) and Jeff Bezos (Amazon). Zuckerberg hopes that Trump can move the FTC to an extrajudicial agreement. The authority is independent, but Trump wants to get it under his control.
Trump doesn’t like Richter
However, the president does not understand the judge James Boasberg responsible for the meta process. Boasberg recently wanted to stop deportation fees of alleged Venezuelan gang members to El Salvador, which Trump simply ignored. Boasberg considered sanctioning Trump because of disregarding the court, Trump called the judge a « crazy left -wing radical ».
Meta, however, is still fighting on other fronts: The EU Commission has initiated several procedures, among other things, accuses the group of not sufficient against false information or promoting addictive behavior in children and adolescents. The latter also accuse the company several US states. In addition, Meta is always confronted with complaints in connection with a lack of data protection.
Meta share is doing relatively well
Meta is comparatively good among the large tech corporations, all of which suffer from Trump’s customs threats and the uncertainty. The share has been in the red since the beginning of the year, all other Magnificent Seven Groups (Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, Amazon, Alphabet, Tesla) caught it much worse. Meta would hardly be affected by tariffs; However, if there is a recession, the group could suffer indirectly, companies would hold back with advertising.
