Attorney General Ford Files Brief in Meta Antitrust Case

Carson City, NV - Today, Nevada Attorney General Aaron D. Ford announced he has joined a bipartisan coalition of 29 attorneys general in filing an amicus brief opposing a district court's ruling in favor of Meta Platforms, Inc. ("Meta") in the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) monopolization case against Meta (FTC v. Meta).

"Competition is the cornerstone of the American free market and Meta's actions have repeatedly indicated that it sought to remove barriers to its domination of the social media space," said Attorney General Ford. "When one company dominates an industry Nevadans suffer from the lack of choice. I will always stand up against unfair business practices and attempts to stifle competition and constrain the free market."

In this case, the FTC alleges that Meta has illegally maintained a monopoly through anticompetitive conduct. For example, Meta purchased social platforms Instagram and WhatsApp after the company identified the two as potential significant threats to its grasp on the market.

In November 2025, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled in favor of Meta in this case. The court's November decision was based on the judge's opinion that, by the time of verdict, Meta no longer had a monopoly in the social networking market. This opinion contradicts well-established precedent that antitrust liability should be based on the facts alleged (if sufficiently proven) at the time the complaint was filed.

Antitrust litigation is complex and often takes several years to resolve. The states argue in the amicus brief that regardless of whether market realities change during the timeframe, such changes should have no bearing on the analysis as to whether a company had and abused monopoly power in a manner that violates antitrust law.

The FTC's appeal, which was announced in January, will be heard by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.

Joining Attorney General Ford in filing the amicus brief are the attorneys general of Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, the District of Columbia, Delaware, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and West Virginia.

A copy of the brief available here.

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