Judge schedules trial in Meta antitrust case

The Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) antitrust case against Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, will head to trial on April 14. 

U.S. District Judge James Boasberg scheduled a bench trial, meaning the case will not go before a jury and the judge will decide the outcome of the trial. 

The case had been poised to move forward since Boasberg denied Meta’s request for summary judgement earlier this month.  

The FTC sued Meta in 2020, accusing the social media giant of maintaining an illegal monopoly over personal social networking with its acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp. 

The case was initially dismissed in 2021, but the judge allowed the FTC to file an amended complaint. In April, Meta asked Boasberg to rule in its favor, arguing that the agency had failed to show its acquisitions hurt consumers. 

However, Boasberg ruled in mid-November that the case “must go to trial.” 

“In the end, while the parties’ legal jousting is both impressive and comprehensive, it leaves no clear victor,” he wrote. “Under the forgiving summary-judgment standard, the FTC has put forward evidence sufficient for a reasonable factfinder to rule in its favor.” 

The Meta case, which was first launched under then-President Trump, will head to trial just months after Trump takes office once again. The case was one of several lawsuits filed against large tech firms, including Google, Amazon and Apple, across both the Trump and Biden administrations. 

As Trump fills in his Cabinet, it remains to be seen whom he will select for key roles that could impact his administration’s approach to antitrust, most notably the FTC chair and the head of the Justice Department’s antitrust division.