Meta Platforms has won a landmark antitrust case that was brought against it by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). A judge has ruled in favour of Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. The FTC had argued that the acquisition of Instagram and WhatsApp by Meta had violated antitrust laws as it had created a monopoly.

On Tuesday, US District Judge, James Boasberg said that the FTC was unable to prove that Meta held a monopoly in the social networking market. The judge also mentioned the changing landscape of social media since the case was filed five years ago. The opinion also said that the FTC had to show that Meta continued to hold a monopoly and not that it held such power in the past.

High profile executives from Meta including CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, and Instagram head, Adam Mosseri testified in court.

Meta spokesperson Andy Stone released a statement which said that the court decision had recognized that “Meta faces fierce competition.” It also stated that the social media platform was looking forward “to continuing to partner with the Administration and to invest in America.”

The FTC also released a statement. The agency’s spokesperson Joseph Simonson said that they were “deeply disappointed” in the decision, and that they would review all their options.

Meta will now remain the parent of both photo and video sharing app Instagram as well as messaging and calling service WhatsApp. Both these apps have gained more popularity, especially among the younger generation when compared with Facebook the original social media platform belonging to Meta.

Meta had acquired Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014. CWEB analyst believe that it was a challenging case from the start as the changing landscape has added popular social media platforms, such as YouTube and TikTok as they also have billions of web fans.