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Intent in acquiring Instagram, WhatsApp in US FTC trial not relevant, Meta says

( April 7, 2025, 19:14 GMT | Official Statement) -- MLex Summary: Meta Platforms told a US federal court that the Federal Trade Commission must prove the anticompetitive effect of the Instagram and WhatsApp acquisitions in 2012 and 2014 respectively when trial in a monopolization suit begins April 14. In a pretrial brief filed with the US District Court for the District of Columbia, Meta said the intent regarding those acquisitions isn't relevant. The FTC will base its theory of exclusionary conduct on "intent" evidence and arguments that the Meta chief executive and others were afraid of Instagram and WhatsApp as potential competitors, the filing said. "But intent is relevant in antitrust cases only to the extent it predicts likely effects. Such evidence may have a role in prospective merger cases, where the Court needs to predict future effects. But here the Court need not guess: Meta has actual evidence of those effects, and that should be determinative," Meta said.See attached document....

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