Meta's antitrust defense: a blizzard of subpoenas

Meta —the parent company for Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp — could drag hundreds of competitors into its legal battle, aiming to slow the Federal Trade Commission's prosecution and "bury" its lawyers in paperwork. A federal judge ruled in January 2022 that the FTC could proceed with its revised case accusing Facebook of illegally buying competitors Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014. Meta's opening salvo in what will be a lengthy discovery process takes aim at the FTC's argument that Snapchat is Facebook's main competitor. Meta told the judge it may subpoena up to 286 firms it has identified as having information relevant to the case — most of which have named Facebook as a competitor in public statements. Meta says the list includes companies that compete with it for user time and attention and advertising dollars, including companies that offer services like messaging, news and other media, streaming video, and gaming. The company has served more than 90 subpoenas so far to third parties. Companies including LinkedIn, Snap and Pinterest are fighting back, accusing Meta in a court filing of "casting an extraordinarily wide net for extremely sensitive materials." Meta previously acknowledged the companies are unlikely to want to hand over details about their businesses, telling the judge the companies "may be resistant" but the information is vital.