{"id":38482,"date":"2025-11-18T19:25:23","date_gmt":"2025-11-18T19:25:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/publicknowledge.org\/?p=38482"},"modified":"2025-11-18T19:25:26","modified_gmt":"2025-11-18T19:25:26","slug":"public-knowledge-responds-to-ftc-v-meta-ruling-further-undermining-competition-in-big-tech","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/publicknowledge.org\/public-knowledge-responds-to-ftc-v-meta-ruling-further-undermining-competition-in-big-tech\/","title":{"rendered":"Public Knowledge Responds to FTC v. Meta Ruling Further Undermining Competition in Big Tech"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Today, D.C. District Court Judge James Boasberg ruled that Meta did not violate antitrust law when it acquired Instagram and WhatsApp in the case <\/em>FTC v. Meta<\/em><\/a>. The Federal Trade Commission had argued that Meta \u2014 the parent company of Facebook \u2014 used those acquisitions to maintain its dominance in social networking by neutralizing emerging competitive threats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The following can be attributed to John Bergmayer, Legal Director at Public Knowledge:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are disappointed by today\u2019s ruling rejecting the Federal Trade Commission\u2019s challenge to Meta\u2019s acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp. For years, Public Knowledge has warned that Meta\u2019s \u2018buy-or-bury<\/a>\u2019 strategy undermines competition and deprives users of real alternatives to Facebook.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSocial networks depend on powerful \u2018network effects\u2019 \u2013 people gravitate to the services their friends and communities already use. That makes it extraordinarily difficult for new entrants to gain traction, even when they offer better features like more privacy. When a dominant platform like Meta buys up rising social networks that may be able to challenge its market position, it closes off one of the few realistic pathways for meaningful competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe court\u2019s opinion reflects a view of the market that is at odds with how digital-platform power operates today. Meta systematically acquired emerging competitors precisely because direct, head-to-head competition threatened its dominance. Meta\u2019s consolidation strategy deprived consumers of innovative services and prevented the development of a truly competitive social-networking ecosystem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWithout meaningful competition, dominant digital platforms will continue to exercise outsized power over speech, commerce, and user choice. We urge policymakers to strengthen antitrust enforcement and adopt pro-competitive policies, including interoperability, to ensure users have real choice.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Without meaningful competition, dominant digital platforms will continue to exercise outsized power over speech, commerce, and user choice.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":122,"featured_media":25479,"parent":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[14],"class_list":["post-38482","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-press-release","tag-platform-regulation"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPublic Knowledge Responds to FTC v. Meta Ruling Further Undermining Competition in Big Tech - Public Knowledge<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Public Knowledge promotes freedom of expression, an open internet, and access to affordable communications tools and creative works. 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