In its application to stop the investigation, Meta stated that the two acquisitions were “positive for consumers and companies”. In addition, the FTC gave its approval after several years of review. If an examination procedure is still carried out, this would be tantamount to sending a message “that no acquisition is ever final,” argued Meta.
The legal dispute over the acquisition of Instagram and WhatsApp by the Facebook parent company has been going on for years. In June 2021, a judge stopped the first test procedure. The FTC then initiated a new proceeding in August 2021, which Meta was unable to enforce.
The FTC now has until May 30 to present to the federal judge its arguments for continuing the review process. A date for a hearing has not yet been announced.
If the FTC successfully takes action against the expansion of the Facebook empire, this could permanently change the market for online services, especially if the Meta Group is broken up. In the fight against market monopolies, the FTC and the US Department of Justice have initiated a number of cases against tech giants in recent years, such as against Google because of its dominant position as a search engine. In this case, a judge is expected to announce a decision at the end of the year.
