This week, a federal judge ruled that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) can continue its case to break up Facebook’s parent company Meta. This obviously deals a big blow to the social media giant, which had previously argued that the case should be thrown out.

According to the government’s case, Facebook has abused its market position to force out competitors and create a social media monopoly. As a result, the FTC is arguing that Facebook should be broken up and its subsidiary platforms like Instagram and WhatsApp should be spun off into separate entities. A federal judge had previously dismissed the FTC’s complaint, saying that the regulatory agency had not done enough to prove a monopoly. However, the judge left the door open for the FTC to revise its case, which it has now done — and done enough to convince the court it should move forward.

“Ultimately, whether the FTC will be able to prove its case and prevail at summary judgment and trial is anyone’s guess,” U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg wrote. “The court declines to engage in such speculation and simply concludes that at this motion-to-dismiss stage, where the FTC’s allegations are treated as true, the agency has stated a plausible claim for relief.”

Many experts and privacy advocates have increasingly begun to call for a breakup of Facebook, so this case could have a monumental impact on social media moving forward. Even if this happens, it won’t solve all the company’s issues. However, the less power Facebook has over the lives of its users, the better.

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