On April 15th, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in the United States finally welcomed a day of litigation against Meta Platforms Inc., accusing the company of illegally monopolizing the social media market after acquiring Instagram and WhatsApp more than a decade ago, and therefore must be split. This case, which has been brewing for many years, will be heard in Washington on Monday under the supervision of Chief Justice James Boasberg. In the opening statement, FTC lawyers cited the long-standing tradition of advocating for the maintenance of competitive markets in the United States, and its lead trial lawyer Daniel Matheson accused Meta of violating this principle. If the FTC wins the lawsuit and Instagram and WhatsApp are forcibly spun off, the integration of these two apps over the years will be in vain, and the world’s two most popular digital consumer products will be impacted, potentially wiping out Meta’s market value of billions of dollars. This will also raise serious questions from the outside world about how the government evaluates and approves corporate mergers and acquisitions. The trial of this case is expected to take about two months, and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and former executive Sheryl Sandberg will testify in court as early as this week. On the first day of the trial, Meta argued that it is facing fierce competition from multiple service providers, especially in the current era where social media is increasingly focused on entertainment rather than just interacting with friends and family. In addition, the company has brought significant benefits to users.
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