Facebook Antitrust Win May Have Broad Policy Implications
ANov. 18 federal trial court decision favoring Facebook is the first decisive win for a “Big Tech” digital platform in a suit brought by the federal government. U.S. District Court Judge Jed Boasberg’s opinion striking down the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) monopolization suit against Meta appears sound and well-reasoned and will be hard to overturn on appeal.
The decision also may have broader implications for U.S. antitrust suits brought against high-tech firms. It stresses how tech markets have changed significantly in recent years, making restrictive market definitions—such as the one put forth by the FTC here—hard to defend. Antitrust cases that retard innovation by focusing on narrow conditions at one point in time may miss the bigger economic picture.