The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is asking the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to revive its landmark antitrust lawsuit against Meta Platforms. The appeal follows a lower court’s dismissal of the case in November 2025.
The judge ruled that the FTC had not shown Meta currently holds a monopoly in the social media market, citing competition from TikTok and YouTube.
The FTC argues the court used the wrong market definition. The agency says the relevant market is “personal social networking services” for connecting with friends and family, and alleges Meta illegally monopolized it through its acquisitions of Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014.
The FTC also argues the court should have assessed whether Meta held a monopoly when the case was filed in 2020, rather than when the judge ruled in 2025.