Business & Economics
Judge Boasberg Throws Out FTC Case, Meta Keeps Instagram & WhatsApp (18 Nov 2025)
On 18 November 2025 a D.C. federal court dismissed the FTC’s five-year antitrust suit, ending the push to force Meta to divest Instagram and WhatsApp.
Focusing Facts
- The 83-page ruling by Judge James Boasberg ended a case filed in Dec 2020 that targeted Meta’s $1 billion 2012 Instagram and $19 billion 2014 WhatsApp acquisitions.
- Boasberg relied on data showing U.S. users now view friends’ content only 17 % of the time on Facebook and 7 % on Instagram, concluding TikTok and YouTube are economic substitutes.
- This is Boasberg’s third substantive decision in the matter after dismissals in 2021 and 2022 allowed a revised complaint to proceed, illustrating the case’s shifting legal footing.
Context
Antitrust history is littered with cases that aged poorly—IBM’s 13-year suit (1969-82) was dropped when the mainframe market had already fragmented, and Microsoft’s 1998 consent decree looked quaint once Google eclipsed Windows. The Meta ruling slots into that pattern: by the time regulators attacked decade-old deals, consumer attention had migrated to TikTok-style short-video feeds, eroding Meta’s classic ‘social graph’ moat. The decision underscores two long-term trends: (1) digital markets mutate faster than court dockets, making static market-share tests ill-suited, and (2) U.S. antitrust law still prioritises present consumer harm over prophylactic break-ups. Whether this moment matters in a century hinges on whether today’s data-driven platforms coalesce into utilities (inviting future trust-busting à la AT&T 1982) or remain in perpetual flux where yesterday’s titan is tomorrow’s casualty; the ruling bets on the latter, but history shows both outcomes remain plausible.
Perspectives
Business and tech-industry outlets
e.g., CNBC, CNET — The court proved Meta no longer wields monopoly power because TikTok, YouTube and others keep the social-media market fiercely competitive. Coverage echoes Meta’s talking points and stresses investor relief, reflecting an incentive to reassure the tech sector and audience focused on markets and gadgets.
Policy and antitrust-focused political media
e.g., POLITICO, Democratic Underground — The decision is a major setback for the FTC’s crusade against Big Tech and shows how hard it is to curb Meta’s dominance. Stories spotlight the judge’s alleged bias and political intrigue, framing the loss as systemic failure and possibly overstating the likelihood of an appeal to keep the antitrust drama alive.
Pro-business commentary and market-watch outlets
e.g., WebProNews, International Business Times — The ruling ‘shatters the monopoly myth,’ illustrating that regulators overreached and that a dynamic free market already disciplines Meta. Pieces celebrate deregulation, downplay consumer-harm arguments, and use triumphalist language that aligns with industry and libertarian skepticism toward government oversight.