Federal judge rules FTC's amended suit alleging Meta has a monopoly can move forward, after a ruling last year threw out FTC's complaint over lack of evidence
The decision is a reversal of fortune for the agency after its first complaint was thrown out last year Source: DocumentCloud .
Washington Post Cat Zakrzewski
Context & Ripple Effects
The FTC’s initial Meta complaint had already been dismissed for insufficient evidence, so the amended filing marks the agency’s effort to preserve its core monopoly theory rather than start a separate case. The dispute ultimately progressed far enough for Meta to seek dismissal after a five-week antitrust trial, showing why the pleading-stage reversal mattered.
The FTC’s contemporaneous record against Meta was uneven: courts rejected its effort to stop the Within acquisition, and the agency later abandoned its parallel administrative challenge. That contrast makes the revived monopoly case the FTC’s more consequential route for testing its claims against Meta.
First-order effects
- The FTC can proceed with discovery and litigation on its amended allegation that Meta holds an illegal monopoly, rather than having the case end on the original evidentiary pleading defect.
- Meta must defend the merits of its market position in federal court while the case remains active.
Second-order effects
- The ruling gives the FTC a live enforcement vehicle against Meta even as its separate challenge to the Within deal failed, concentrating the agency’s Meta antitrust effort on the monopoly case.
- Meta’s litigation strategy shifts from attacking the complaint’s sufficiency to contesting the FTC’s proof, a posture reflected in its later request to dismiss after trial.
Third-order effects
- Together with the later decision allowing major FTC claims against Amazon to proceed, the case signals that amended, better-supported federal antitrust complaints can survive initial judicial scrutiny even when regulators lose individual merger challenges.
- If that pattern persists, Big Tech antitrust enforcement will be shaped less by one-off acquisition challenges and more by long-running cases centered on evidence of market power and competitive harm.
The trend: US antitrust enforcement against large technology platforms is increasingly being tested through durable monopoly cases after courts demand more developed factual support at the pleading stage.
Related: FTC · Meta · Meta seeks dismissal after FTC antitrust trial · Judge denies FTC bid to block Meta's Within deal · FTC antitrust claims against Amazon proceed
Related Coverage
- Judge says the FTC's Meta monopoly lawsuit can go forward The Verge · Adi Robertson
- Lawsuit aiming to break up Facebook group Meta can go ahead, US court rules The Guardian · Dan Milmo
- View article BBC
- The FTC's antitrust suit against Facebook is cleared to move forward Engadget · Igor Bonifacic
- Federal Judge Rejects Facebook's Request to Dismiss FTC's Latest Antitrust Lawsuit Wall Street Journal · Brent Kendall
- The FTC's attempts at splitting up Meta are continuing PhoneArena · Iskra Petrova
- Judge Allows FTC To Move Forward With Its Antitrust Lawsuit Against Meta Android Headlines · Sumit Adhikari
- US FTC's second attempt to break up Facebook allowed to proceed, here's why MediaNama · Sarvesh Mathi
- A Facebook antitrust suit can move forward, a judge says, in a win for the F.T.C. New York Times · Cecilia Kang
- Judge gives go-ahead for FTC to move forward in Meta antitrust case SiliconANGLE · James Farrell
- The FTC's antitrust lawsuit against Meta will proceed Protocol · Ben Brody
- FTC's lawsuit trying to break up Meta will go on AppleInsider · Amber Neely
- Judge deals a blow to Meta, allows FTC antitrust lawsuit to move forward Android Central · Derrek Lee
- What FTC's Meta Victory Means The Information · Martin Peers
- Judge denies Facebook's request to throw out FTC antitrust lawsuit The Hill · Brad Dress
- FTC gets second chance to sue ‘monopoly’ Facebook New York Post · Ariel Zilber
- Judge allows Federal Trade Commission's latest suit against Facebook to move forward NPR · Bobby Allyn
- FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION, Plaintiff, v. FACEBOOK, INC., Defendant. DocumentCloud
- Meta-Facebook asked the judge to dismiss the FTC's antitrust complaint. He said no. 🙅♀️ Gotrade Daily
- Judge rejects Facebook bid to derail US antitrust suit Tech Xplore
- Facebook's request to dismiss FTC's antitrust lawsuit has been denied CNET · Queenie Wong
- U.S. Gets ‘Second Time Lucky’ in Reviving Facebook Monopoly Case Bloomberg · David McLaughlin
- US judge rejects Facebook request to dismiss FTC antitrust lawsuit iTnews
- Facebook may be split, and a US judge requires it to face government antitrust litigation equalocean.com
- The FTC can move forward with its bid to make Meta sell Instagram and WhatsApp, judge rules Insider · Isobel Asher Hamilton
- Facebook Can't Fence Off FTC Antitrust Suit, But It Narrows Scope PYMNTS.com
- The Newest Corporate Perk New York Times
- US court rejects Meta plea to dismiss FTC lawsuit on illegal monopoly TechCircle
Discussion
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Vox
Shirin Ghaffary
on x
The FTC's antitrust case against Facebook is going forward after all
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@b_fung
Brian Fung
on x
Here we go: US antitrust regulators' lawsuit to break up Meta, Facebook's parent, can move ahead, judge rules, after the FTC's “more robust and detailed” amended complaint from last year: https://www.pacermonitor.com/ ... https://twitter.com/...
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@senwarren
Elizabeth Warren
on x
I'm glad the @FTC's case against Facebook is allowed to move forward. Facebook has bulldozed competition to dominate the market. We need to break up Big Tech and hold Facebook accountable for any violations of antitrust law. https://www.reuters.com/...
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@mediamorphis
Dwayne Winseck
on x
Upshot of the ruling: play ball, the FTC's claims about Facebook's creation & maintenance of a personal social networking monopoly are solid enough for the case to go ahead. So, as it says, 2nd time lucky since the same court dismissed the case 1st time around.
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@jason_kint
Jason Kint
on x
In terms of Facebook's argument that buying Instagram and WhatsApp wasn't anticompetitive and bad for consumers, the Court throws in the compelling point of how Facebook pulled back its own investment in its own product after the deal. Point taken. /5 https://twitter.com/...
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@harrylitman
Harry Litman
on x
Boasberg an excellent district court judge with fine rep - bad news for Facebook Second time lucky?' FTC's case against Facebook can move forward, federal judge rules. https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
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@jason_kint
Jason Kint
on x
back to actual arguments of the case, the Court had already accepted the market definition and then now tips the hat to the use of three metrics as backup. Anyone who has actually run a digital biz knows why you must look at multiple metrics holistically. So does the Judge. /4 ht…
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@willoremus
Will Oremus
on x
OK so the main news is that the FTC's antitrust case against Facebook can go forward and I realize this is beside the point but how long do you think the judge worked on this lede before coming up with “Second time lucky?” and being like YUSS, NAILED IT https://twitter.com/...
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@jayhadhope
@jayhadhope
on x
@BobbyAllyn Big congrats to the FTC for being able to submit a complaint successfully But with the pivot towards Meta I still strongly suspect it's going to be too little too late, and dismissed or a slap on the hand for Zucc at best
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@jason_kint
Jason Kint
on x
First, they told you the FTC failed to even define a market - their go-to line. This was entirely false, the court said they had failed to provide metrics to back it up which they added in spades to the amended complaint which had the same core theory as the Court notes. /2 https…
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@justiacom
@justiacom
on x
A federal judge on Tuesday ruled that the Federal Trade Commission's antitrust case against Facebook could proceed, in a reversal of fortune for the agency after its first complaint was thrown out last year. via @washingtonpost https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
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@jason_kint
Jason Kint
on x
So when Facebook attempts to argue FTC re-arranged chairs on Titanic or FB's paid lobby group (hi @adamkovac) points out meaningless language in the decision (yes, Count II remains in the complaint), please return to my first tweet as they also said it should be thrown out. /8 ht…
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@robertjbateman
Robert Bateman
on x
This earlier opinion provides (a lot of) background on the FTC antitrust case Judge dismissed FTC's (poorly substantiated) original complaint but allowed leave to amend Facebook then sought to dismiss that amended complaint but this move has now failed https://www.govinfo.gov/...…
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@jason_kint
Jason Kint
on x
Snap! FTC amended lawsuit to break up Facebook - green light from the court! Congrats to FTC. Rather than spend time dunking on FB's friendlies who suggested it had failed, I hope you will ignore their next round of talking points since the last ones were so damn wrong. /1 https:…
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@fboversight
@fboversight
on x
The FTC's suit against Facebook is crucial to upholding antitrust laws and promoting competition. Today's decision by the court is a win as this case proceeds. Facebook's patent violations of antitrust law ought to be challenged its executives held accountable. (1/2) https://twit…
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@jason_kint
Jason Kint
on x
I mean one more point here on consumers. The allegation is market power allowed FB to lower its service quality for consumers. Does anyone doubt this? Do we really believe Facebook wouldn't have better addressed its problems of the past few years if it had more competition? /7 ht…
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@jason_kint
Jason Kint
on x
The really really obviously on Facebook's payroll and influence list said things like the FTC had already “approved” the Instagram and WhatsApp deals which were sort of the rookie-league arguments and false. But again, the Judge clarified why those points were irrelevant. /3 http…
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@fboversight
@fboversight
on x
Facebook's acquisition of Instagram and WhatsApp must be scrutinized. This company has shown time and again it would rather acquire competitors and stifle competition than compete fairly. (2/2)
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@cat_zakrzewski
Cat Zakrzewski
on x
Judge also rejects FB's call to recuse Khan: She “has undoubtedly expressed views about Facebook's monopoly power, these views do not suggest the type of ‘axe to grind’ based on personal animosity or financial conflict of interest that has disqualified prosecutors in the past.”
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@mediamorphis
Dwayne Winseck
on x
This is important—> Facebook made up several ideas about why the FTC's case was out-of-bounds, including that it was based on revisionist history & the idea that FTC couldn't require an after-the-fact divestiture. Both claims were false. Now, let's see what the court said. https:…
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@klasfeldreports
Adam Klasfeld
on x
Indeed, the first line of the ruling begins: “Second time lucky?” Regulators' claims this time are “far more robust and detailed than before, particularly in regard to the contours of [Facebook]'s alleged monopoly,” the judge finds. 🔽 https://twitter.com/...
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@jason_kint
Jason Kint
on x
And love seeing the Court agree with Facebook that consumer harm also matters and that can't be proven on price (since facebook is free) but then agreeing the allegations are solid. DISCOVERY ON THIS AREA IS GOING TO BE A GOLD MINE as we all know, Facebook is a cesspool. /6 https…
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@ceciliakang
Cecilia Kang
on x
Judge denies Facebook's motion to dismiss FTC antitrust case. So the lawsuit can proceed - a win for the agency.
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@jesselehrich
Jesse Lehrich
on x
wow, this is BFD, and a huge win for @linakhanFTC & the @FTC —the amended complaint against Facebook was widely expected to be dismissed. instead, judge rules FTC better defined FB's monopoly power & case can proceed to discovery. https://twitter.com/...
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@caseynewton
Casey Newton
on x
It's too late for the FTC's Facebook lawsuit, which won't be settled for years, to really matter. But the agency has started to scrutinize Meta's many VR acquisitions — and that, I think, could matter a lot https://www.platformer.news/ ... https://twitter.com/...
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@hkanji
@hkanji
on x
“The FTC has done its homework this time around” https://www.platformer.news/ ...