Meta Antitrust Judge Supports TikTok, WeChat, Telegram Data Request

Meta Platforms Inc. secured a judge’s support to seek information from TikTok, WeChat, and Telegram Group Inc. to assist its case against a US FTC antitrust case.

In order to bolster its case against an antitrust action brought by the US Federal Trade Commission, Meta Platforms Inc. received the judge’s approval to request information from the companies behind TikTok, WeChat, and Telegram Group Inc.

On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg sent letters to the Chinese Justice Department requesting assistance in acquiring documentary proof from Tencent and ByteDance.
He also sent a second letter to British Virgin Islands officials about Telegram.

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In the letters, Boasberg stated that he was interested in user statistics, communications, or presentations for executives & board members who were looking into whether the firms’ apps competed with Meta’s Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp platforms.

When the FTC filed a complaint against it, alleging that Meta had dominated the personal social networking industry and tried to force other companies to sell their Instagram and WhatsApp divisions, Meta had informed Boasberg that it wanted information on each company’s customer base including market share to defend itself.
The corporations’ US divisions were unable to provide the information, according to Meta.

The social media behemoth from Menlo Park, California requested that the judge give orders allowing it to formally seek evidence from abroad.

Boasberg first rejected the FTC’s lawsuit on the grounds that the organization had failed to adequately explain how it calculated Facebook’s market share.
After that, the FTC submitted an amended complaint, which the judge was able to examine and rule on in January.