A US judge dismissed the federal government's antitrust lawsuit against Meta on Tuesday, ruling that the tech giant's acquisition of Instagram and Whatsapp did not constitute an illegal monopoly in social media.

The ruling delivered a major victory to Meta after a five-year battle that began when the US agency filed suit claiming the company illegally maintained its monopoly by acquiring Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014 to eliminate competitive threats.

Judge James Boasberg of the federal district court in Washington concluded that Meta faces sufficient competition from rivals TikTok and YouTube, preventing the company from exercising monopoly power in the social media market.

The FTC had argued that Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and minor player MeWe competed in a distinct market

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