Mark Zuckerberg may lose Instagram and WhatsApp.
The Meta platform company, founded and led by Mark Zuckerberg, will go on trial in Washington. The company is accused of establishing an illegal monopoly in the social networking sector by spending billions of dollars to acquire Instagram and WhatsApp.
According to Reuters, U.S. antitrust agencies are attempting to object to these acquisition deals in this case.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said that these acquisitions carried out over a decade ago were aimed at eliminating new competitors that could pose a threat to Facebook's position as the primary social platform, where users communicate with family and friends. Moreover, the FTC filed a lawsuit as early as 2020, during Donald Trump's first presidential term.
The FTC hopes to force Meta to restructure its business or sell part of its operations, including Instagram and WhatsApp. Jennifer Newsted, Meta's Chief Legal Officer, described the FTC's statement as "unfounded" and claimed it would "stifle" investment in this technology.
"The FTC is trying to destroy a large American company while the government is trying to save companies from other countries. It's absurd," she wrote in an article posted on the company blog last Sunday.
Reuters also pointed out that this lawsuit poses a survival threat to Meta. According to some assessments, around half of Meta's ad revenue in the U.S. comes from Instagram. Meanwhile, this case allows the public to truly evaluate how the Trump administration will fulfill its promise to crack down on large tech companies.
Source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1829545241137475/
Disclaimer: This article solely represents the author's personal views.