A week before the start of a key antitrust trial against Meta (April 14), the company found itself at the center of a political scandal: Mark Zuckerberg's meeting with Donald Trump at the White House has raised suspicions of possible pressure on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). It is seeking the forced sale of Instagram and WhatsApp, claiming that Meta bought them to destroy competition. How unexpected political shifts could change the course of one of the most high-profile trials in the field of Big Tech – read the analysis by Reuters and Politico
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Tensions are rising in Washington, D.C., after Donald Trump unexpectedly met with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg in the Oval Office, sparking speculation that the White House could step in and shut down a case that has been brewing for six years at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) with the support of the Trump and Biden administrations.
At the heart of the case are allegations that Meta acquired Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014 not to grow its business, but to eliminate potential competitors. If the FTC wins, Meta could be forced to sell both social platforms. This would be an extremely expensive and legally complex process that would effectively mean breaking up the giant with a market value of $1.3 trillion, writes Politico.
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While the FTC usually operates independently of the White House, that changed in March when Trump unexpectedly fired two Democratic commissioners, leaving two Republicans at the agency. That gave the new commissioner, Andrew Ferguson, the chance to make decisions without internal opposition. He is now leading the case against Meta.
On the day of his meeting with Zuckerberg, Ferguson told reporters that the FTC was “ready to fight,” but when asked directly whether he would comply with Trump’s order to stop the case, he replied, “I will comply with lawful orders,” avoiding a clear position. This only fueled suspicions of possible political pressure.
FTC spokespeople did not comment on whether there was contact between Ferguson and Trump regarding the case, and the White House did not respond to questions about whether the president would try to persuade the FTC to settle, Politico comments.
Donald Trump and Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook accounts, January 7, 2025. Photo by Getty Images
“Alarm signal” before the court
Former Justice Department official Doa Mekki called the very fact that Zuckerberg met with the president “a red flag,” especially given the timing of the meeting, which was immediately before the trial. Meta spokesman Andy Stone described the meeting as part of “a series of conversations about American technology leadership,” but declined to say whether the antitrust case was discussed.
Lina Han, who until recently headed the FTC, emphasized that it is now much easier to politically influence the decision: “Yes, you still need a vote of the commission, but without Democrats it is much easier to do it,” she says, and does not rule out that Meta is pressuring the administration to get rid of the case.
An unexpected ally for Khan was Steve Bannon, Trump’s former adviser and influential right-wing voice. He bluntly stated that Zuckerberg’s appearance in the Oval Office was no accident. “It’s the result of pressure from Silicon Valley oligarchs,” he said.
Meta vector change
Zuckerberg, who was previously criticized by Trump and Republicans for his liberal bias, has recently radically changed his rhetoric. He apologized for removing misinformation about COVID-19, loosened controls on content about Hunter Biden's laptop , eliminated the fact-checking program at Meta, promoted Republicans Joel Kaplan and Kevin Martin to the role of his top lobbyists, donated $1 million to Trump's inaugural fund, and threw a gala party in his honor.
These moves have not gone unnoticed. Senator Ted Cruz and Congressman Jim Jordan have openly supported Meta for its newfound loyalty to Republicans. Trump himself has also made no secret of his desire to build a social ecosystem where more weight is given to right-wing conservative content.
But not everyone in the party agrees. Sen. Josh Gowley, a longtime critic of Meta, remains a supporter of the antitrust lawsuit. He has publicly questioned whether Trump has the legal authority to order Ferguson to drop the case. “Ferguson should say, ‘This is illegal, Mr. President,’” he said at the Y Combinator summit.
In turn, dismissed FTC Commissioner Alvaro Bedoya warned that Ferguson could face a choice – either follow a political order and keep his job, or refuse and be fired. “I got a letter like that. And he could get one,” Bedoya said.
Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, at the inauguration of Donald Trump as the 47th President of the United States at the United States Capitol, January 20, 2025, in Washington, D.C. Photo by Getty Images
Where it all began
The history of the US Federal Trade Commission's antitrust case against Meta began back in 2020, when the commission filed a lawsuit demanding that the company be broken up, forcing it to sell Instagram and WhatsApp.
The FTC claims that these acquisitions were not an investment in development, but a deliberate move to eliminate potential competitors and maintain a monopoly in the social networking market. But the main argument of the commission is that Meta took measures not to promote competition, but to suppress it. The court agreed with this key argument, and at the same time rejected the part of the lawsuit that concerned the restriction of third-party developers' access to the platform, writes Reuters.
Meta claims that its acquisition of Instagram and WhatsApp has benefited users. The FTC says the case is aimed at restoring competition.
