Meta to face antitrust trial in US over Instagram, WhatsApp acquisitions

Facebook owner Meta Platforms must face trial in a U.S. Federal Trade Commission lawsuit seeking its break up over claims that it bought Instagram and WhatsApp to crush emerging competition in social media, a judge in Washington ruled on Wednesday.

The FTC sued Meta’s Facebook in 2020, during the Trump administration, alleging that the company acted illegally to maintain its social network monopoly.