Trump FTC faces the first major test with Meta trial

The Trump administration is scheduled to face the social media giant that owns Facebook and Instagram, in court starting on Monday in a case that can stand as a major test for President Trump’s team to combat monopoly.

The Federal Trade Committee (FTC) will try to prove that Meta has maintained the monopoly of social networks through its Instagram and WhatsApp operations, while the agency faces an internal revolution after the overthrow of President Trump to Democratic Commissioners.

“This is not just a test of the current administration, but it is also a test of something they started at the end of the recent Trump administration,” said Paul Swanson, who leads anti -monopoly and competition practices at Holland and Hart.

“It is part of the Trump 1.0 line to Trump 2.0, where we see whether this administration will continue in a course to challenge the power of large technology and will you succeed in doing this?” He added.

FTC filed a lawsuit against Meta, then Facebook, in the last months of the first Trump administration, accusing the technology company of strategic endeavor to eliminate competition through the main acquisitions – Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014.

After the case was initially rejected in 2021, the agency was allowed to amend its complaint, and the judge supervised the case in November, he had a dead person to confront a trial.

The trial is scheduled to extend for several weeks from the E. Barrett Prettyman court in Washington, DC, with the American provincial judge, James Pomsberg, to allocate the court’s dates until early July.

FTC argued that by eliminating its rival through the acquisitions, Meta reaps great profits while the experience of consumers suffered.

After preliminary attempts to compete with Instagram and WhatsApp, where they gained importance in early 2010, Meta eventually bought platforms for one billion dollars and $ 19 billion, respectively.

“For more than a decade, Meta maintained the monopoly of personal social media services (” PSN “) in the United States,” FTC wrote in a pre -presented summary on Thursday.

“Instead of breaking up its competitors on the advantages of PSN (Facebook) offers, Meta chose to protect its location through anti -competition means: buying the important threats he set at Instagram and WhatsApp,” continued.

However, Meta claims to face competition from other social media companies that FTC fails to see as part of the personal social networking market.

“A lawsuit against FTC against Meta challenges reality,” a company spokesman said in a statement. “Evidence will appear in the trial of what every 17 -year -old child knows in the world: Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp compete with Chinese -owned Tiktok, YouTube, X, IMESSAGE and many more.”

He has also confirmed that its Instagram and WhatsApp were approved by the agency, on the pretext that the case “sends a message that there is no truly final deal.”

“The American organizers must support innovation, instead of seeking to dismantle a great American company and more Chinese advantages on critical issues such as artificial intelligence,” the spokesman added.

“The Hill, who might have disintegration if you lose,” William Kovacic, a former FTC commissioner at the Federal Trade Committee, told The Hill, who may have disintegration if you lose.

“If you lose dead here, there is a real possibility that they are forced to dismantle the company that started building 10 years ago or so when they acquired these companies,” Kovacic said.

The issue raises its own questions to the federal government, and testing the limits of anti -monopoly application at the present time.

“This is a test if anti -monopoly enforcement agencies still have this type of old justice in the era, the authority to dismantle major companies,” Swanson said.

He added: “The question is whether the anti -monopoly law still gives enforcement agencies this type of force in the context of these less stable dynamic markets.”

The future of the case has been in the air in recent weeks, when it was reported that the CEO of Meta Mark Zuckerberg has pressed Trump and White House officials to agree to a prior to the trial.

Zuckerberg, who faced Trump’s anger after Mita, the president of his platforms in the wake of the riots in January 6, tried to fix his relationship with Trump since the elections, donate his opening fund and transform the company’s approach to moderation in the content.

Meta announced in January that it will eliminate the third -party fact inspection program for a community program such as X’s Community Notes. Trump praised this step, which suggested that the company “has come a long way.”

The technology giant informed employees in January that it had planned to reduce its diversity team, property and integration rights (DEI) and relevant programs, which are in line with the Trump administration’s opposition to the efforts of diversity.

Lina Khan, former FTC president, at the time, suggested that Meta and other major technology companies facing anti -monopoly claims may search for a “beloved deal” from the Trump administration.

Khan said: “It is true that the Federal Trade Committee was very successful, including in its ongoing lawsuits against Amazon and Facebook. Thus, it will only be normal for these companies to want to come and see, can they get a kind of deal of the beloved?”

“Can they get a kind of cheap settlement, settle on penalties on the dollar and allow them to escape from the responsibility of the court?” It continued.

Through the first Trump administration and Biden Administration, anti -monopoly officials have submitted issues against many technology giants, including Google, Amazon and Apple.

The Ministry of Justice, which is also dealing with the anti -monopoly application, won a case of combating monopoly against Google in August, where the judge found that he illegally monopolized online search.

Since Zuckerberg has increased pressure on Trump to settle the case, the newly appointed FTC president Andrew Ferguson confirmed last week that he would follow the president’s orders, also indicating that this result is not likely.

“I think it is important for me to obey legal orders,” he said to the newspaper “Verge”. “I think the president realizes that we have to impose laws, so I will be very surprised if anything like that happens.”

However, Ferguson’s respect for the White House comes in a major moment, as Trump sought to confirm his control of independent agencies, such as FTC.

Last month, Trump launched the FTC Democrats Commissioners, Alvaro Bedouia and Rebecca Kelly Slier, the latest in a series of high -level separation operations in independent agencies.

Senior officials, such as Bedoya and Slaughter, have been protected from removal by the president under a precedent from the 90 -year -old Supreme Court. However, the Trump administration appears to be preparing to challenge these long stable cases.

Kovacic pointed out that the White House ultimately interferes in FTC on behalf of Zuckerberg, it will represent a major shift in politics.

“The way to be resolved is a major test, not only for the anti -monopoly law, but from the greatest approach that the Trump administration will take towards technology and the business community,” he said.

“He will say that the road to success passes through the White House,” he added. “If one company takes this trip successfully, many other companies will follow up. You will see a double line to the Atlantic Ocean.”