Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, is set to face a trial on April 14th that could have far-reaching implications for the social media landscape. The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is accusing Meta of violating antitrust laws by acquiring Instagram and WhatsApp, and is seeking a potential breakup of the company as a remedy.

The trial is the culmination of a lawsuit filed under the Trump administration and amended under the Biden administration, which alleges that Meta's acquisitions of Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014 stifled competition and harmed consumers. The FTC argues that Meta's actions were anticompetitive and that the company used its dominance to "neutralize" potential rivals.

Meta, on the other hand, is defending its actions by arguing that it helped grow Instagram and WhatsApp into large businesses used by billions of people, while facing plenty of competition along the way. The company's senior executives, including CEO Mark Zuckerberg and former COO Sheryl Sandberg, are expected to testify during the trial.

The trial is significant not only for Meta but also for the broader tech industry, which has been under increasing scrutiny from regulators and lawmakers in recent years. The case is part of a broader rethinking of how antitrust laws should apply to digital markets, and could have implications for other tech companies that have made large acquisitions in the past.

Ahead of the trial, Meta has made efforts to cozy up to the Trump administration, with Zuckerberg meeting with other tech CEOs during President Trump's inauguration and settling a lawsuit with the president over banned accounts. However, the FTC's chair has suggested that he would obey an order from Trump to drop the lawsuit, which could potentially impact the outcome of the trial.

The crux of the FTC's case is the allegation that Meta illegally monopolized the market for "personal social networking services" through its acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp. The agency's amended complaint points to evidence of Meta's anticompetitive intent behind the acquisitions, including a 2012 message from Zuckerberg to his then-CFO about buying social media startups like Instagram.

Rebecca Haw Allensworth, an antitrust professor at Vanderbilt Law School, believes that the FTC's lawsuit is one of the stronger cases against a tech company in recent years. She argues that the strength of the FTC's case comes from evidence of Meta's alleged anticompetitive intent behind the acquisitions, which could serve as a tie-breaker if the judge is torn between expert views of the market.

For Meta, fighting a forced spinoff of Instagram or WhatsApp is of existential importance. Both apps are critical to the company's business, with Instagram being the most culturally relevant service and WhatsApp being the most used messaging app in the world. Spinning off either app would be technically challenging given how deeply intertwined they are with Meta's broader infrastructure.

The trial is expected to feature testimony from a long list of prominent current and former Meta executives, as well as witnesses from rival social media firms like Snap, TikTok, and Pinterest. The outcome of the trial could have significant implications for Meta's business and the broader tech industry, and could potentially pave the way for other adverse rulings against Big Tech companies.

In recent years, there has been a growing bipartisan and populist movement to rethink how antitrust laws apply to digital markets. The outcome of this trial could be a significant step in that direction, and could have far-reaching implications for the tech industry and beyond.