The goal will begin to be tried in the United States from this Monday (14).
The US government is advancing with a highly successful antitrust case, claiming that Mark Zuckerberg’s company illegally built a “social network monopoly” through years of “anti -specific conduct”.
If the judge is on the government side, the goal may be forced to break up selling Instagram and WhatsApp, and other technology giants may be notified.
But there is another question: if President Donald Trump will intervene in any way.
The agency responsible for the case, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), historically operates with a remarkable degree of independence, which means investigators were protected from political pressure.
However, Trump expanded these norms throughout the executive power during his second term.
At the same time, Zuckerberg struggled to forging an alliance with Trump through private dinners, public appearances, and changes to the target platform.
Zuckerberg commented to the goal officials in January that “now we have the opportunity to have a productive partnership with the United States government” and “let’s enjoy it”.
Zuckerberg was last seen at the White House on April 2; On the same day, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal reported that he was pressing Trump to resolve the FTC case.
Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich, a fierce critic of both, wrote in X: “Remember how Mark Zuckerberg began to approach Trump when the goal donated $ 1 million to his inauguration? Well, now Zuckerberg is trying to profit-supposedly doing lobby with Trump to resolve the FTC antitrust process against the goal.
The case against the goal was actually designed during Trump’s first term. FTC investigators appointed by Trump, together with almost all state prosecutors’ offices, analyzed previous Instagram and WhatsApp acquisitions for the goal and filed a lawsuit in December 2020.
The lawsuit was rejected six months later, but the FTC – then under the leadership of President Joe Biden’s nominees – returned with a stronger process, and the US district judge for the case, Judge James Boasberg rejected the target requests to reject the process.
Bomberg will also preside over the trial and decide for or against goal, as there is no jury. His presence adds another layer of intrigue, as he also decided against the use of Trump’s law of foreign enemies to deport alleged members of Venezuelan gangs.
Trump attacked Bomberg as “a radical left lunatic” and called for his impeachment, although Boaberg has a history of a nonpartisan in the legal circles.
Last month, Trump fired two FTC democrats, despite a 1935 Supreme Court decision that determined that a president cannot do so without cause. The two commissioners, Rebecca Slaugh and Alvaro Bedoya, are suing Trump and trying to stay on the commission.
“Our laws need to be applied without fear or favoritism,” Slaughter told the anchor of CNN Kaitlan Collins, warning that “the president has been very clear about directing law enforcement to reach his enemies and favoring his allies.”
So is Zuckerberg a friend or an enemy? In a book released last year, Trump accused Zuckerberg of conspiring against him in 2020 and said, “If he does something illegal this time, he will spend the rest of his life in prison – just like others who cheating in the 2024 presidential elections.”
Zuckerberg spoke positively about Trump after Butler’s attack on Pennsylvania, and met Trump on Mar-lago after the election. “We had a very nice dinner,” Trump told NBC. “He asked for dinner. I had dinner with him,” adding, “People like me now, you know?”
In January, Zuckerberg instituted a tricky reformulation on Facebook and other platforms, partly responding to former Trump complaints about “censorship.” He was also with Trump’s possession of other technology celes – an extraordinary view that Trump has brought up many times since then.
If Trump has positive feelings about Zuckerberg, he didn’t say that publicly.
Trump’s chosen to lead FTC, Andrew Ferguson, recently said that the commission’s lawyers are “eager to go” against the target at the trial.
But he also said, when asked by The Verge vehicle about the possibility of Trump having him abandon a case like the goal, “the president is the chief executive and I think it is important for me to obey legal orders.”
“I think the president recognizes that we need to enforce the laws, so would be very surprised if something happened,” said Ferguson.
The goal, in turn, presented some favorable arguments to Trump in public before the date of the trial.
“Regulators should support American innovation instead of trying to break up a large American company and give China even more advantages on critical issues such as AI,” said a company spokesman.
At the trial, the goal will also point out what says “every 17 -year -old in the world knows”: that Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp “compete with Tiktok, who is Chinese owned, YouTube, X, Imessage and many others.”
This content was originally published in Goal Facing trial that can force Instagram and WhatsApp for sale on CNN Brazil.
Source: CNN Brasil
Bruce Belcher is a seasoned author with over 5 years of experience in world news. He writes for online news websites and provides in-depth analysis on the world stock market. Bruce is known for his insightful perspectives and commitment to keeping the public informed.
