A federal judge ruled Wednesday that a Federal Trade Commission lawsuit accusing Facebook owner Meta of holding an illegal monopoly over social media can proceed to trial, handing the agency a victory after previous setbacks in making its case in court.

Judge James Boasberg initially dismissed the FTC’s lawsuit in 2021, but the agency filed an amended complaint, which he ultimately let proceed. Meta once again asked the court to dismiss the FTC’s case in April.

A federal judge ruled Wednesday that Meta must face trial in an antitrust case brought by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) over the social media giant’s acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp. U.S.

A judge largely denied Meta's motion to end the case filed against Facebook in 2020 alleging that the company acted illegally to maintain its social network monopoly.

Meta face trial in a U.S. FTC lawsuit seeking its break-up over claims that it bought Instagram and WhatsApp to crush emerging competition.

FTC claims that Meta has a "monopoly" and has “wilfully” maintained that power by purchasing WhatsApp and Instagram.

A federal judge ruled on Wednesday that an FTC complaint alleging that Facebook's acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp were anticompetitive should proceed to a jury trial.

Meta Platforms Inc. will face a scaled-back antitrust trial over its alleged dominance of social networking after a federal judge threw out some allegations by the US Federal Trade Commission.