American Antitrust Institute Files Amicus Brief in FTC v. Meta Platforms Appeal

On May 29, 2026, the firm filed an amicus brief on behalf of the American Antitrust Institute ("AAI") supporting the Federal Trade Commission's appeal in the D.C. Circuit from its trial loss against Meta Platforms, Inc. challenging the company's acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp as acts of monopoly maintenance. The brief argues that the District Court's ruling made a number of legal errors in defining the relevant market and in refusing to infer monopoly power based on market shares.

Brendan previously attended each day of the trial for the Big Tech on Trial Substack, with blog posts covering the trial available here. In connection with his analysis of the trial, Brendan was interviewed by or quoted in Le Point, Ars Technica (two times), Pluralistic (two times), TechTarget, Future Media, Organized Money, The Majority Report with Sam Seder, Background Briefing with Ian Masters, The Capitol Forum, The Monopoly Report, by Senator Marsha Blackburn, and in panel discussions organized by the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation (once after trial and again following the District Court's ruling) and the D.C. Bar.

The AAI brief in the appeal was covered by Law360, MLex, and VitalLaw. Firm principal Brendan Benedict served as counsel of record with assistance from Of Counsel Michael D. Altebrando, and co-counseled with Randy M. Stutz and Kathleen W. Bradish of the AAI.

The matter is Federal Trade Commission v. Meta Platforms, Inc., No. 26-5028 (D.C. Cir.).