Kathmandu. Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp’s mau company Meta is being heard in the ongoing case. This is an antitrust trial for META. Which started on Monday.
The trial was conducted in Washington with the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Which has accused Meta of misusing its power.
The FTC has accused Meta of destroying its rivals by buying Instagram and WhatsApp years ago. According to FTC lawyers, Meta has bought their competitors instead of competing with them. It is claimed that it has taken this step to maintain Facebook’s dominance.
Daniel Matheson, on behalf of the FTC, quoted an internal statement from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg in 2012. In which it was said to ‘disable’ Instagram. In response, META claimed that the case was misleading.
According to Meta, at the time of both acquisitions, the FTC itself reviewed them and approved the acquisition. The company’s lawyers claimed that these agreements were made to strengthen the platform and improve the consumer experience.
Meta will have to sell WhatsApp and Instagram if the case is decided in favour of the FTC. The FTC noted that Meta paid a lot of money to buy these platforms.
Meta bought Instagram for $1 billion in 2012 and WhatsApp for $19 billion in 2014. However, Meta is still facing challenges from TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), YouTube and Apple iMessage.
Mark Zuckerberg and former chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg may also be called for this hearing. The hearing in the case will continue for a few weeks. This case started during the first term of US President Donald Trump. – Agency
