The FTC had alleged that Facebook violated the nation's anti-monopoly laws by acquiring nascent startups like Instagram that it perceived as a threat to its dominance, and by preventing others from plugging into Facebook's services.
Boasberg's ruling — a respite for Facebook in the midst of constant scrutiny from regulators around the globe — immediately prompted further calls for Congress to update the nation's antitrust laws. Last week, the committee advanced a package of landmark bills that would empower antitrust regulators at the FTC and the Justice Department to break up Big Tech platforms such as Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google.
In a separate decision, Boasberg dismissed entirely a similar antitrust suit against Facebook brought by dozens of state governments, saying they waited too long to challenge Facebook's Instagram and WhatsApp acquisitions, which were completed in 2012 and 2014, respectively.