The Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) antitrust case against Meta will proceed to trial on April 14, as U.S. District Judge James Boasberg has scheduled a bench trial, meaning the judge, rather than a jury, will decide the outcome.
The case gained momentum after Boasberg denied Meta’s request for summary judgment earlier this month.
The FTC sued Meta in 2020, accusing the company of maintaining an illegal monopoly over personal social networking through its acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp. Although the case was initially dismissed in 2021, the judge allowed the FTC to file an amended complaint.
In mid-November, Judge Boasberg ruled that the case must go to trial, stating that the evidence presented by the FTC was sufficient for a reasonable factfinder to rule in its favor.
The Meta case is part of a larger series of antitrust lawsuits filed against major tech companies, including Google, Amazon, and Apple, under both the Trump and Biden administrations.
With Trump’s return to office in the coming months, the approach to antitrust issues could shift depending on his appointments to key positions, such as the FTC chair and the head of the Justice Department’s antitrust division.
Peoplesmind
