Meta Fights Back Against FTC Monopoly Claims: Instagram and WhatsApp Acquisitions Were Saviors, Not Killers

Meta is vigorously defending itself against the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) antitrust claims. Meta argues that its acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp were not intended to stifle competition, but rather to save the platforms. They point to Instagram's pre-acquisition state as "broken and duct-taped," vulnerable to spam, and WhatsApp founders' testimony that they never intended to become a social media platform. Meta emphasizes that its resource investment allowed both platforms to thrive, attracting hundreds of millions and then billions of users, and successfully monetizing. Meta dismisses evidence suggesting increased ad revenue and refutes emails implying Zuckerberg's intent to bury competitors as irrelevant.