Zuckerberg is in trouble? Meta's antitrust case goes to court, FTC seeks to force the sale of Instagram and WhatsApp.

The antitrust case of social media giant Meta officially opened in federal court in Washington D.C. yesterday (14). The trial has attracted much attention because it may not only reshape Meta's business landscape, but also be seen as a key battle in the United States for antitrust enforcement against large technology companies. (Synopsis: Former Meta executives broke the news that Zuckerer licked the complicity: secretly created a "Facebook Taiwan-Hong Kong censorship" tool and betrayed Facebook user privacy) (Background supplement: Zuckerberg's 46 billion magnesium meta-universe investment is lost? In December 2020, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed an antitrust lawsuit against social media giant Meta (formerly Facebook), accusing it of buying Instagram and WhatsApp with large sums of money to stifle competition and illegally establishing and maintaining Meta's monopoly in the social media market before they grew into threats. The case was filed during the first term of US President Trump, and after several procedural adjustments, it was finally officially heard in the federal court in Washington, D.C. yesterday (14). The trial has attracted much attention because it may not only reshape Meta's community business map, but also be seen as a key battle in the United States for antitrust enforcement against large technology companies. Meta fears being forced to sell Instagram and WhatsApp According to Reuters, the lawsuit is presided over by Judge James Boasberg. In his opening statement, FTC lawyer Daniel Matheson stressed that Meta's acquisition strategy "creates industry barriers and protects its dominant market position," leaving consumers with no reasonable alternatives. The FTC is clear that it seeks to force Meta to sell Instagram and WhatsApp in order to restore competition in the market. However, Meta's current position is also firm, and the company strongly refutes the FTC's allegations. Jennifer Newstead, Meta's chief counsel, blogged before the trial, called the case "unfounded" and said it was "ridiculous" that the FTC was trying to break up a successful U.S. company while the government was protecting Chinese-owned TikTok. Meta argues that the social media market is highly competitive, including platforms such as TikTok, YouTube, X and LinkedIn are competitors, and that the acquisition of Instagram and WhatsApp has led to a better user experience. It is understood that the trial is expected to last several weeks, and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is expected to testify and face questions about its acquisition intentions. Will the Meta business empire fall? Analysts pointed out that if Meta ultimately loses the case, the consequences could be extremely serious. The most immediate downside is that the court may rule that Meta must sell Instagram and WhatsApp, which would unravel its social media empire worth about $1.4 trillion — Instagram is currently estimated to account for nearly half of Meta's U.S. advertising revenue, WhatsApp is an important platform for global messaging apps, and the loss of these two apps will hit Meta's market position and financial performance hard. In addition, the FTC may further require Meta to change its business model and limit its potential future acquisitions, which will affect its competitiveness in the rapidly changing technology market. More broadly, the outcome of the case could also have implications for the future of other tech giants, such as Amazon, Apple, and Google. However, it is worth noting that during Trump's current second term, Meta has also frequently courted him, such as Zuckerberg's donation of $1 million to Trump's inauguration, the removal of the content management policy criticized by the Republican Party as "censorship", and repeated visits to the White House to try to promote reconciliation. Meanwhile, the new chairman of the FTC, Andrew Ferguson, has said that if Trump orders the termination of the lawsuit, he will "follow the lawful order," leaving room for a possible settlement. But despite this, Ferguson also stressed that he "can't imagine" Trump intervening in such a major antitrust case, so whether Meta can avoid serious consequences through political lobbying is still unclear and remains to be watched. Former Meta executives accuse Zuckerberg of censorship It is also worth mentioning that on the eve of the antitrust trial, Sarah Wynn-Williams, former director of global public policy at Meta, testified at a hearing of the Crime and Counterterrorism Subgroup of the US Senate Judiciary Committee last week, revealing that Meta worked with the Chinese government to develop censorship tools in order to enter the Chinese market, and accused Zuckerberg of personally leading the program. She made the following specific allegations at the hearing: Development of censorship tools: In 2015, Meta developed a censorship system code-named "Project Aldrin" for the Chinese market, equipped with "virality counters" that automatically trigger censorship by the "editor-in-chief" when a post exceeds 10,000 views. The system is planned to be launched not only in mainland China, but also in Hong Kong and Taiwan. Cooperate with Chinese government requests: She accused Meta of deleting the Facebook account of Chinese dissident Guo Wengui in the United States in 2017 at the request of Chinese officials, for violating community norms. Sharing user data and technology: Meta has planned to share user data with China and brief Chinese officials on advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and facial recognition technology. Financial motivation: Meta generates huge revenue from the Chinese market, with advertising revenue from China reaching $18.35 billion in 2024, showing Meta's dependence on the Chinese market. Although Meta has now refuted the allegation entirely, saying that Sarah Wynn-Williams' allegations are "inconsistent with the facts and full of false allegations", in the Meta antitrust case, this may become one of the variables affecting the verdict. At the same time, Josh Hawley, chairman of the Senate Crime and Counterterrorism Subcommittee, also said that he had invited Zuckerberg himself to Congress to explain that "the public has the right to hear your response to so-called false accusations" and hoped that he would personally clarify the truth. Related stories Former Meta employees share: A guide to investing in meme chaos Meta abolished third-party fact-checking and replaced X's "community notes" to curry favor with Trump? Experts worry that fake news may be more indiscriminate The former head of Facebook Coin broke the news that "the inside story of the death of Meta stablecoins": 100% is political killing "Zuckerberg is miserable? Meta antitrust case opens, FTC demands forced sale of Instagram and WhatsApp" This article was first published in BlockTempo's "Dynamic Trend - The Most Influential Blockchain News Media".