Taxpayer Watchdog Criticizes FTC’s Appeal in Meta Case

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Kara Zupkus (224) 456-0257

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced an appeal in its case seeking to unwind Meta’s acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp. The agency lost at the district court level in November, when a judge ruled that the deals had not violated the law.

In response, David B. McGarry, Research Director at the Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA), offered the following comment:

“It cannot be said that this FTC is not persistent. Yet persistence is not a virtue when it furthers dubious legal arguments and incoherent economic theories. The judge who ruled against the agency saw these defects—which have been apparent for the half decade over which this case has unfolded. Nevertheless, the FTC now insists on setting alight more taxpayer dollars to continue its ideological campaign against a productive and innovative American technology firm. If the FTC succeeds on appeal, it would stifle America’s world-class technology sector. Mergers and acquisitions are critical to a thriving and expanding industry.”

“The FTC announced its appeal on January 20, the first anniversary of President Trump’s inauguration. This creates an incongruence. The Trump administration has stood firmly against European-style antitrust, which punishes firms for their successes. The President deserves praise for protecting American firms from foreign regulatory predation. Now, the FTC is importing the regulatory assumptions of its European counterparts, undercutting the Trump administration’s policy to sustain American global technological dominance. This sort of policy—whether instituted by Washington or Brussels—cannot, and will not, coexist with a flourishing American technology sector.

“TPA urges President Trump to intervene at the FTC to bring this case against Meta to a close. The government has lost this case at the district level, and it will again on appeal. No more taxpayer funds ought to be expended in this futile and destructive case.”

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 Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to educating the public through the research, analysis and dissemination of information on the government’s effects on the economy.