Meta faces disintegration: Will Facebook lose Instagram and WhatsApp due to an antitrust case?

Mark Zuckerberg is facing one of the most dangerous trials in his career, as historic trial sessions have begun against "Meta," the owner of Facebook, on charges related to anti-competitive practices. The U.S. government, through the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), is seeking to dismantle the "Meta" empire by separating the applications "WhatsApp" and "Instagram" from the parent company, in a move that could reshape the internet and social media platforms as we know them today. The case officially started on Monday, revolving around allegations that "Meta" acquired Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014 with the intention of eliminating competition, charges that constitute a clear violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890. If the FTC manages to prove these allegations, "Meta" may be forced to divest two of its major applications, in the first such dismantling operation for a major technology company in decades. Aamer Atabish, an IT consultant, believes that a federal court ruling against "Meta" would have a huge impact on the company, potentially leading to the separation of "WhatsApp" and "Instagram" and making them independent companies. However, he also points out that this scenario is still unlikely at this point, given the complexities of the case and the influence of "Meta." Atabish explained that the company is facing a flood of legal and financial lawsuits due to its near-absolute dominance in the social media market, to the extent that competitors have been unable to keep up with it due to financial and technological limitations. He believes that the lawsuit aims to break this dominance and restore balance to the market. On the other hand, Rola Abi Najm, a cybersecurity and digital transformation consultant, believes that the acquisition policy is not exclusive to "Meta," as giant companies like "Google" and "Microsoft" also adopt it, with the former owning "YouTube" and the latter owning "LinkedIn." She adds that these policies have indeed contributed to undermining the principle of free competition in the applications market. Abi Najm suggests that the solution may lie in separating applications, so that one company does not own multiple major platforms. She emphasizes that "Meta's" ownership of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp gives it unprecedented power, making it extremely difficult for any competitor to succeed against it, especially since the number of its users is close to 4 billion people, nearly half of the world's population. However, the policy may play a role in this case, as Zuckerberg, with his extensive network of relationships and immense wealth, may use his influence to mitigate the confrontation or even change the course of the case. "Meta" bought Instagram for just one billion dollars in 2012 when the application had no more than 13 employees. Two years later, it paid 22 billion dollars to acquire WhatsApp, a deal classified at the time as one of the largest in technology history. Today, these same deals are being brought to trial, and their outcome could cause an earthquake in one of the largest companies in Silicon Valley, reshaping the social media landscape worldwide.