Judge dismisses Instagram Shopping antitrust suit against Meta
The court said the claims were filed too late and did not plausibly show harm to competition, but allowed the startup to amend its complaint.
A US federal judge dismissed a lawsuit accusing Meta Platforms of illegally monopolizing shopping on Instagram by copying the business plan of a now-defunct startup, Reuters reported.
US Magistrate Judge Virginia DeMarchi in San Jose, California, said Ollywan’s antitrust claims were filed too late and failed to plausibly show harm to competition. The judge will allow the company to file an amended lawsuit, with limitations.
Ollywan alleged that Meta copied its concept for a tag-based shopping platform before launching Instagram Shopping in 2016. The feature lets users buy products tagged in posts.
The London-based startup launched Winstag in 2016 with photo-sharing, product-tagging and affiliate-shopping features. It said its chief executive shared a business plan with Meta executives under assurances of confidentiality.
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Meta denied wrongdoing and said Ollywan was using antitrust law to blame the company for the failure of its app. DeMarchi also said antitrust law does not prevent Meta from enforcing its Winstag trademark.
The case is Ollywan Limited v Meta Platforms Inc. Meta faces other antitrust litigation, including a case brought by a defunct photo-sharing app and a separate Federal Trade Commission lawsuit it defeated last year.