Washington, DC – In a crucial legal battle, Meta is challenging the FTC’s definition of the market and positioning TikTok as its primary competitor. If Meta can successfully argue that TikTok is its biggest rival, it could potentially undermine the FTC’s case by reducing Meta’s market share to levels below monopolistic standards.
One of the key questions at hand is whether Facebook and Instagram can be considered substitutes for TikTok. While Meta has suggested that users migrated to Instagram during TikTok’s outage, there are suspicions that Meta aggressively promoted this shift through advertisements. Some users even speculated that Meta had acquired TikTok shortly before the outage, as they noticed banners urging them to link their TikTok accounts to Meta platforms. However, data from Sensor Tower at the time indicated that the reported ad campaign had minimal impact on increasing daily active users and downloads on Instagram and Facebook.
Another important aspect that the court may consider is where users of Instagram or Facebook would turn if they chose to stop using those platforms. If the FTC can argue that individuals seeking a platform to connect with friends and family would not view TikTok as a suitable alternative, it could strengthen their market definition argument.
Kenneth Dintzer, a partner at Crowell & Moring and former lead attorney in a successful antitrust case against Google, highlighted that while Meta acknowledging its rivalry with TikTok is significant, it may not fully address the issue of social connections. Judge James Boasberg challenged Meta’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, during the trial, questioning the importance of having friends on a specific platform when sharing can occur across multiple platforms. Zuckerberg emphasized the fluidity of sharing across platforms, utilizing each for its unique value as a “discovery engine.”
Overall, the legal dispute between Meta and the FTC centers on the definition of the market and the nature of competition in the social media landscape. By examining user behavior during TikTok’s outage and exploring the interchangeability of social media platforms for connecting with others, the court will need to navigate complex issues to determine the outcome of this high-stakes case.