Editorial
The Gist
- Platform breakup looms large. The FTC's antitrust trial could force Meta to sell Instagram and WhatsApp, potentially creating the largest corporate breakup since AT&T in 1982 and fundamentally reshaping the $1.4 trillion social media advertising landscape.
- Marketing operations face major upheaval. If the platforms split, digital marketers will need to manage three separate digital advertising ecosystems instead of one integrated platform, with potentially different pricing models, data policies and campaign management tools across Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.
- Advertising budget planning gets more complex. Marketers face a number of scenarios if a court determines that Instagram and WhatsApp must operate independent of Meta. The increased competition between the separated platforms could influence ad rates and force marketers to fragment their digital customer experience strategies and budgets.
Digital marketers planning 2026 digital advertising strategies face an unprecedented question: Will Meta's integrated advertising platform still exist?
The FTC's ongoing antitrust trial against Meta threatens to break up the social media giant, potentially splitting Instagram and WhatsApp into separate companies with distinct advertising models, policies and pricing structures.
Table of Contents
- How the FTC-Meta Case Formed
- FTC Builds Its Case Around Market Monopoly Claims
- Meta’s Defense: Innovation, Investment and Platform Growth
- Setting a Precedent for Reviewing Past Mergers and Future Acquisitions
- Regulating Digital Power: Rethinking Antitrust in the Tech Era
- Implications for Marketers: CX Fragmentation and Budget Pressures
How the FTC-Meta Case Formed
The trial began April 14, a byproduct of a previous lawsuit filed along with 46 states. The initial lawsuit was dismissed in June 2021, but soon afterward the FTC filed an amended complaint that has evolved into the current court case. Meta filed motions to dismiss the lawsuit in January 2022 and April 2024. In both actions, however, judges rejected the dismissal filings.
FTC Builds Its Case Around Market Monopoly Claims
The FTC asserts that separating WhatsApp and Instagram from Meta will support a more independent internet. The FTC alleges Meta acquired those platforms to eliminate competition and maintain monopoly power.
Through its claims, the FTC frames Meta as a business operating in a singular market — social media. The FTC argues that since users can socialize on Instagram and WhatsApp just like Facebook, all three platforms compete in the same market. This structure among the three platforms allows Meta to control a large share of the social media marketplace, giving users few options in choosing where they can communicate.
Meta’s Defense: Innovation, Investment and Platform Growth
So far, Meta has made a counternarrative to the FTC during four days of witness testimony. It claims WhatsApp and Instagram lacked the resources, expertise and direction to become robust, valuable platforms. Meta argues the acquisitions helped these platforms compete more effectively. Mark Zuckerberg stated on the first day of testimony that Meta made WhatsApp and Instagram better. The FTC disagrees, claiming the deals eliminated competition.
Meta has been shifting the vision for both apps in the social media space. Instagram has expanded its offerings from image sharing to video streaming, creating a community around the streaming. Mark Zuckerberg testified that Instagram and WhatsApp have evolved beyond simple social networking into broader communication platforms.
How the court defines WhatsApp and Instagram's market position will be crucial to the outcome of the case. The decision's impact will extend far beyond just giving users more social media options. A decision to force Meta to divest will potentially be the largest corporate breakup since AT&T's telephone monopoly split over 40 years ago.
A split would also affect options for digital marketers to budget digital ads for social media. The division will place Meta’s $1.4 trillion advertising business at risk.
If Meta is forced to divest Instagram and WhatsApp, digital marketers will face operational changes across four critical areas that directly impact campaign planning and budget allocation. From managing separate advertising accounts to navigating different data privacy policies, the ripple effects will touch every aspect of social media marketing strategy.
Related Article: X, Meta and the Great Social Media Meltdown
Marketing Operations Impact Table
Key areas where marketers will need to adapt if Meta is forced to split Instagram and WhatsApp.
| Topic | Implications With FTC-Meta Case |
|---|---|
| Separate Platform Strategies | The FTC is seeking an Instagram and WhatsApp spin-off from Meta. If the WhatsApp/Instagram split happens, these platforms, which are used by many digital marketers for community building and engagement, will introduce divergent business strategies, policies and feature development on each platform, compared to their current integrated approach under Meta. Marketers might need to adapt their community strategies and tools for three distinct entities rather than a single, unified ecosystem. For example, WhatsApp's co-founders originally resisted ads and social media feeds, opting for a pay-per-year model. An independent WhatsApp might revert to or explore non-ad models, significantly impacting marketers using its business tools or groups for community engagement. |
| Advertising Landscape and Monetization Models | Meta's business model is largely based on advertising. The case touches upon the competitive landscape for advertisers, with Meta arguing it faces "robust" competition. If the platforms are separated, they would become direct competitors for advertising revenue. This increased competition could influence advertising rates or the availability and features of advertising/monetization tools relevant to community content. As noted, WhatsApp's original model was subscription-based, and its founders resisted ads; an independent WhatsApp might explore alternative monetization methods beyond ads. |
| Changes to Platform Features and Innovation | The FTC alleges that Meta's acquisitions eliminated competition and prevented consumers from enjoying the benefits of competition. They argue that if the mergers hadn't happened, there might have been more innovation, better data privacy and improved management of misinformation. If the court sides with the FTC's view, it could lead to changes aimed at fostering competition or improving privacy/misinformation controls on the platforms. While Meta argues its ownership improved the platforms and provided resources for growth, an outcome forcing divestiture might be accompanied by requirements or incentives for the separated companies to innovate in specific areas, potentially including new or different tools for community interaction and engagement. |
| Impact on Data Privacy and Trust | A key argument from the FTC is that the lack of competition resulting from the mergers potentially led to worse data privacy for consumers. While Meta disputes this and has argued its infrastructure helped Instagram, a court ruling favoring the FTC could lead to increased scrutiny or regulatory pressure on data practices across the platforms. Digital marketers managing digital communities rely heavily on user data and trust; any changes to privacy policies or data access stemming from the case could directly impact community management strategies, potentially requiring more emphasis on transparency and opt-in consent. |
Setting a Precedent for Reviewing Past Mergers and Future Acquisitions
The case has become notable because its premise — the benefit of an independent WhatsApp and Instagram — runs counter to the FTC decision to approve Meta’s acquisition of Instagram and WhatsApp. An FTC approval of a given corporate merger considers how the newly formed company impacts consumer experiences in the marketplace, such as what variety of offerings are available and what pricing power would exist.
Historically, the FTC considerations examined physical assets of sales, such as the landmark 1911 Standard Oil antitrust case, or regulated regions of operations like the US vs. AT&T case in 1982.
Regulating Digital Power: Rethinking Antitrust in the Tech Era
Today, digital assets not only exist in some companies, they also serve as operational assets — essential resources for scaling into profitability. Amazon’s successful evolution from e-commerce into additional tech, such as cloud and streaming services, is a clear example — engagement on digital platforms, like social media, has blurred the lines on how products and services are provided.
The outcome of the FTC-Meta case could set a precedent for how the government agency revisits and potentially unwinds past technology mergers. Antitrust laws address restraint of trade, through court review of how a company’s offerings are delivered in a given marketplace. Digital businesses complicate traditional antitrust definitions, as tech companies operate differently than the physical industries antitrust laws were originally designed to regulate.
The FTC-Meta judgment could also create a chilling effect on future tech acquisitions, signaling that any acquisition of innovation could be viewed critically through an antitrust lens. For digital marketers, this could influence the landscape of emerging platforms — smaller digital communities might grow independently rather than being acquired by larger tech companies, potentially offering marketers new but perhaps less scaled channels for community building in the future.
Related Article: Meta Llama's 3.2's Vision Reasoning: Why Marketers Should Pay Attention
Implications for Marketers: CX Fragmentation and Budget Pressures
The potential separation of WhatsApp and Instagram from Meta will fundamentally alter the environment where many digital communities reside. This enlarged marketplace would likely require marketers to re-evaluate and potentially fragment their digital customer experience strategies across newly independent services, with each strategy addressing different features, content policies, data privacy policies and business models.
The cost behind digital customer experience strategies could significantly increase — not a small marketer concern. Marketing budgets have been restrictive over the last few years, one of the trends indicated within CMSWire’s State of the CMO report.
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The need to innovate to stay competitive is intense. Changes to investment can affect community engagement tools and martech choice for data handling.
The closing arguments have been completed. Now digital marketers must wonder when the judgment will be rendered.
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