Top Meta executives including Mark Zuckerberg and ex-operating chief Sheryl Sandberg will be in the hot seat as the Federal Trade Commission’s landmark antitrust trial seeking a breakup of Meta kicked off on Monday. The case is arguably the most high-profile legal challenge in Meta’s history and represents an existential threat to its business. The FTC has argued that Zuckerberg-led Meta used what it has called a “buy or bury” strategy to overpay for upstart firms like Instagram and WhatsApp before they could threaten its social media monopoly. The illegal...

A trial in the landmark antitrust case against social media giant Meta kicks off in Washington on Monday. The US competition and consumer watchdog alleges that Meta, which already owned Facebook, bought Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014 to eliminate competition, effectively giving itself a monopoly. The FTC reviewed and approved those acquisitions but committed to monitor the outcomes. If the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) wins the case it could force Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to sell off both Instagram and WhatsApp. Meta previously said it was sure it...