Meta defeats Instagram shopping monopoly lawsuit for now

Meta Platforms persuaded a US federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit that accused the company of illegally monopolizing shopping on Instagram by stealing the business plan of a now-defunct startup.

Here ​are the details:

US Magistrate Judge Virginia DeMarchi in San Jose, California, on Friday dismissed claims brought by London-based Ollywan, which had alleged last year that Meta copied its concept for a "tag-based" shopping platform before launching Instagram Shopping ‌in 2016.


⁠Ollywan alleged ⁠Meta violated US antitrust law by integrating Instagram with Instagram Shopping, which lets users buy products tagged in posts. ​Ollywan in 2016 launched Winstag as a photo-sharing app with product tagging and affiliate shopping features. The startup claimed ​its chief executive shared a business plan with Meta executives under assurances of confidentiality.

DeMarchi said Ollywan's antitrust claims were filed too late and failed to plausibly show harm to competition.

Meta ​has denied any wrongdoing. "Ollywan seeks to misuse the antitrust laws ⁠to blame ‌Meta for the failure of its fledgling app and for succeeding where ​Ollywan failed," Meta told ​the court in a filing.

The lawsuit also challenged Meta's efforts ⁠to prevent Ollywan from using the name "Winstag." DeMarchi said "the antitrust laws do not prohibit Meta from enforcing its trademark rights."

Meta had argued ​that the allegations in the lawsuit occurred outside the four-year window for antitrust claims under federal law. DeMarchi said Ollywan did not explain "how filing this action two years after ceasing operations could be considered a prompt filing."

The judge said she will allow Ollywan to file an amended lawsuit, with limitations.

Meta faces other antitrust lawsuits, including one from a defunct photo-sharing app that ‌claims Meta drove it out of business. Meta last year defeated a lawsuit by the Federal Trade Commission that sought to force it to restructure ​or sell Instagram and ​WhatsApp. The company has ⁠denied the allegations in both cases.

The case is Ollywan Limited v Meta Platforms Inc, US District Court, Northern District of California, No. 5:25-cv-08215.

For plaintiff: Sam Stake and Sami Rashid of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan

For ​defendant: Sonal Mehta and David Gringer of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr