The Federal Trust Commission (FTC) said Tuesday it will appeal the November 2025 ruling in favor of Meta in its antitrust case. The ruling had said that Meta did not violate antitrust laws with its acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp more than a decade ago.
FTC had originally sued Meta in 2020, claiming the company secured a monopoly in social media by purchasing its rivals.
U.S. District Judge Boasberg issued his ruling on Nov. 18 after the historic antitrust trial wrapped up in late May 2025. This decision was in contrast with two separate past rulings that branded Google an illegal monopoly in both search and online advertising. However, Google also saw a victory, with a district judge declining to force it to spin off its Chrome browser, a step the justice department had said was necessary to end the tech giant’s monopoly.
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Meta’s victory had helped the company avoid a potential breakup of the company, which would involve spinning Instagram and WhatsApp off from it.
Daniel Guarnera, director of the FTC’s competition bureau, on Tuesday said: “Meta has maintained its dominant position and record profits for well over a decade not through legitimate competition, but by buying its most significant competitive threats.”
“The [Donald] Trump, [JD] Vance FTC will continue fighting its historic case against Meta to ensure that competition can thrive across the country to the benefit of all Americans and US businesses,” he added.
Meta said in a statement, “The district court’s decision to reject the FTC’s arguments is correct and recognizes the fierce competition we face. We will remain focused on innovating and investing in America.”
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Meta’s antitrust trial had intersected with rising bipartisan skepticism of Big Tech. While the case originated during the Trump administration, it has continued with support from both sides of the aisle. Key figures in the Republican MAGA movement, including Vice President J.D. Vance, had voiced support for challenging tech monopolies. However this has been complicated with Big Tech companies—including Meta—increasingly cozying up to the Trump administration.
Over the past year, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg had praised President Donald Trump openly, and relaxed his platforms’ moderation rules in response to Republican fears over the censorship of conservatives. However, the tech group’s efforts to lobby the White House to settle the case ahead of the trial were unsuccessful.
The U.S. efforts to break up Big Tech seems unsuccessful, considering setbacks in several major monopoly cases because judges refrained from ordering the breakup of some of the biggest companies.