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FTC says Meta dominated market for personal social

networks

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Evidence does not support FTC's market definition, Meta

says

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Judge may wait to rule until trial ends in coming weeks

(Adds detail about motion and case in paragraphs 5-11, attempt

to seek comment in paragraph 4)

By Jody Godoy

May 15 (Reuters) - Facebook parent company Meta

Platforms ( META ) asked a federal judge on Thursday to throw

out the U.S. Federal Trade Commission's case accusing it of an

illegal social media monopoly, saying the agency failed to prove

its case at a high-stakes antitrust trial.

At the trial, which began on April 14 in Washington, the FTC

has sought to show that Meta, then known as Facebook, illegally

dominated the market for social media platforms used to share

updates with friends and family through its acquisitions of

Instagram and WhatsApp. The FTC is seeking to unwind those

deals, which occurred more than a decade ago.

If granted, Meta's request for a ruling on the evidence so

far would bring a quicker end to the case, though U.S. District

Judge James Boasberg could decline to take it up. Meta is now

presenting its own evidence at the trial, which may run into

June.

A spokesperson for the FTC did not immediately respond to a

request for comment on Thursday.

The FTC is seeking to show that Meta, then known as

Facebook, bought Instagram and WhatsApp to take out upstart

rivals, pointing to emails where CEO Mark Zuckerberg worried

about the apps' growth.

But evidence at trial showed that WhatsApp had no plan to

expand to become a social network rival to Facebook, and that

Zuckerberg knew that before the deal was finalized, Meta said

Thursday. And testimony showed Instagram grew after the

acquisition, the company said.

Meta also argued FTC failed to show a meaningful difference

between supposed friends-and-family sharing apps -- such as

SnapChat, Instagram and Facebook -- and TikTok, which Meta said

it has been forced to imitate to survive.

Platforms where users broadcast content to strangers based

on shared interests, such as X, TikTok, YouTube and Reddit ( RDDT )

, are not interchangeable, the FTC has said.

"The through line connecting all of these social apps is

that each vies to show the most compelling user-generated

content so that it can take as much user time and attention as

possible from the other apps, including Meta's apps," the

company said.

If Boasberg does not grant Meta's request, the FTC and Meta

are expected to file final briefs and deliver closing arguments

after the company is finished presenting evidence.

If the judge then finds that Meta holds an illegal monopoly,

the case would go to a second trial over the appropriate

measures to address it.