The News
Meta will face off against antitrust regulators beginning Monday, in a case that could jolt the tech industry.
The Federal Trade Commission has accused Meta of being an illegal monopoly after it bought WhatsApp and Instagram, and a ruling in favor of federal regulators could force the social media giant to divest from both. The case was brought during Trump’s first term and continued under Joe Biden.
But Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has tried to cozy up to Trump, fueling speculation that the White House could intervene. In early April, The Wall Street Journal reported that Zuckerberg pitched the White House on a settlement.
“If there is a settlement, there will always be doubts about how that settlement came about,” a former FTC chair told the Washington Post. The case is before Judge James Boasberg, who denied the FTC’s initial case in 2021.