Meta Defeats Government Antitrust Case

SPEAKER_1 (0:01)

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Alex Ossola (0:18)

A federal judge dismisses the government's antitrust case against Meta. Plus, President Trump says Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman knew nothing about the 2018 murder of Jamal Khashoggi.

Donald Trump (0:30)

You're mentioning somebody that was extremely controversial. A lot of people didn't like that gentleman that you're talking about. Whether you like him or didn't like him, things happened. But he knew nothing about it.

Alex Ossola (0:41)

And the House votes to release government files about Jeffrey Epstein. It's Tuesday, November 18th. I'm Alex Ossola for The Wall Street Journal. This is the PM Edition of What's News, the top headlines and business stories that move the world today. A federal judge has dismissed the Federal Trade Commission's antitrust case against Meta Platforms. The FTC filed its suit in 2020, dating back to the first Trump administration, claiming that Meta operated as a monopoly after its acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp, and that the Facebook owner's products don't compete with TikTok and YouTube. The judge's dismissal of the case deals a blow to one of the government's marquee antitrust lawsuits against big technology companies. WSJ reporter Meghan Bobrowsky joins me now to discuss the case and its implications. Meghan, I want to start by talking about Meta. What does this dismissal mean for the company and what it can do?

Meghan Bobrowsky (1:38)

Yeah, so this is basically best case scenario for Meta. There are no restrictions. They don't have to do anything or change anything. They can just keep operating as normal. And where it is a big win for them is they can continue to pursue their huge AI buildout without any restrictions coming from this litigation.

Alex Ossola (2:00)

One of the key points of this case seems to have been past actions versus present status. What does this case show about how the tech world has changed?

Meghan Bobrowsky (2:09)

This tells you how slowly litigation moves. This case was filed years ago by the time that it actually got to court. Meta was in a very different place and now it has a lot of other competitors. Well, that's what they argued, right? YouTube, TikTok, what Meta's products are used for evolved quite drastically over the time that this case was brought to the point where they were actually making the argument in court that people don't connect with their friends and family on its apps, which is kind of different from an argument they might have been making five years ago. The judge ultimately agreed with Meta that the FTC did not prove that the current conditions that Meta is operating in are a monopoly.

Alex Ossola (2:58)

That was Wall Street Journal reporter Meghan Bobrowsky. Thanks Meghan.

Meghan Bobrowsky (3:02)

Thanks for having me.

Alex Ossola (3:07)

In Washington, during a meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, or MBS, at the White House today, President Trump said that MBS, quote, knew nothing about the 2018 murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, even though the CIA concluded at the time that the royal had ordered his killing. Here's Trump speaking in the Oval Office today, answering a reporter question about Khashoggi.

Donald Trump (3:30)

You're mentioning somebody that was extremely controversial. A lot of people didn't like that gentleman that you're talking about. Whether you like him or didn't like him, things happened, but he knew nothing about it.

Alex Ossola (3:41)

MBS added that, quote, it's really painful to hear anyone losing his life for no real purpose or not in a legal way. He says his country conducted an investigation to ensure nothing like the assassination happens again. Khashoggi was a Saudi dissident and US resident who repeatedly spoke out against the kingdom's repressive regime. His grisly murder in a Saudi consulate in Turkey led to intense blowback in Washington, with members of both parties calling for the US to break ties with the kingdom. Also today, MBS said his country would look to invest $1 trillion in the US economy, while Trump brushed aside questions about his family's business ties to Saudi Arabia.

And on Capitol Hill, the House has passed a bill that would require the Justice Department to release government files related to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The vote was almost unanimous, with just one vote against—Republican Louisiana Representative Clay Higgins. It's a milestone in the long-running fight that has divided Republicans. Trump blasted the effort for months, calling it a Democratic-driven campaign to embarrass Republicans and distract from GOP policy wins. But, as it became clear that dozens of Republicans were likely to break ranks and support the measure to force the Justice Department to release documents, Trump reversed course. He said he supported the passage of the bill and would sign it into law if it got to his desk, while continuing to call it a hoax. The measure now goes to the Senate, which could vote as soon as this evening. In other political news, a federal court has blocked a new Texas congressional map that was designed to add as many as five new Republican House seats ahead of next year's midterm elections. The court ordered that the midterm races use districts drawn in 2021 Texas Governor Greg Abbott says the state will appeal the order to the US. Supreme Court. Coming up, what Latin America's political turn to the right means for its relationship with the US and China. That's after the break.