"FTC Should Investigate Meta’s Acquisition of Scale AI" 7 August 2025

Eleven public interest groups, led by NextGen Competition and Public Citizen, today urged the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to launch a full investigation into Meta’s investment in Scale AI. The groups’ letter argues that the deal amounts to a de facto vertical acquisition, deliberately structured to exploit gray areas in traditional merger law.

“The investment in Scale AI includes all the anti‑competitive hallmarks typical of Big Tech’s minority stakes in generative AI firms,” said Sumit Sharma, executive director of NextGen Competition. “Here, the harms extend well beyond model development and aim squarely at cementing Meta’s dominance in adjacent markets such as social media and surveillance advertising. Meta already faces an antitrust lawsuit in these markets...

...“Meta’s $14.8 billion grab is a blatant attempt to control a competitor, lock up scarce AI infrastructure, and poach top talent all while squeezing out rivals,” said J.B. Branch, Big Tech accountability advocate at Public Citizen. “These backdoor deals are deliberately structured to dodge regulatory scrutiny, inching as close to a merger as possible without calling it one. Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta have all participated in these ‘acqui-hires’ which are just anticompetitive behavior disguised as investment. The FTC must investigate this growing trend to protect consumers before the damage is done.”