Meta asks judge to rule that FTC failed to prove its monopoly case

By Jody Godoy

(Reuters) -Facebook parent company Meta Platforms asked a federal judge on Thursday to throw out the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s case accusing it of an illegal social media monopoly, saying the agency failed to prove its case at a high-stakes antitrust trial.

At the trial, which began on April 14 in Washington, the FTC has sought to show that Meta, then known as Facebook, illegally dominated the market for social media platforms used to share updates with friends and family through its acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp.

If granted, the request for a ruling on the evidence so far would bring a quicker end to the case, though U.S. District Judge James Boasberg could decline to take it up. Meta is now presenting its own evidence at the trial, which may run into June.

(Reporting by Jody Godoy in New York; Editing by Sandra Maler and Leslie Adler)