Technologies

Meta Wins Antitrust Case, Won’t Have to Give Up WhatsApp or Instagram

The FTC claimed Meta held an illegal monopoly in social networking.

Meta has won its antitrust case against the Federal Trade Commission. The FTC said Meta held an illegal monopoly in social networking — centering on the company’s acquisitions of WhatsApp and Instagram.

Judge James Boasberg of the US District Court for the District of Columbia released a memorandum opinion on Tuesday, stating that the FTC failed to prove its claims in court.

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«Whether or not Meta enjoyed monopoly power in the past,» Boasberg wrote in the filing, «the agency must show that it continues to hold such power now.»

Boasberg initially dismissed the FTC’s complaint in 2021, stating that the agency lacked sufficient evidence that Meta holds «market power» in the social networking industry. At the time, the FTC argued that «Facebook’s course of conduct has eliminated nascent rivals,» preventing «the benefits of competition, including increased choice, quality and innovation» from developing for US social media users.

After the FTC amended its filing with information about Meta’s user numbers and acquisitions of the WhatsApp and Instagram applications, Boasberg allowed the case to proceed in 2022.

The trial began in April, and multiple high-ranking current and former Meta executives testified before the court — chief among them, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Much of Zuckerberg’s testimony focused on refuting the FTC’s primary claim, which hinged on an argument Zuckerberg made in 2008: «It is better to buy than compete.»

Meta’s win means the company will be able to continue operating WhatsApp and Instagram unimpeded. Had the FTC proven its claims in court, Meta likely would have had to break these applications off into their own separate social networking companies.

Meta released a public statement on Tuesday, stating that the decision «recognizes that Meta faces fierce competition» in the social networking industry.

«Our products are beneficial for people and businesses and exemplify American innovation and economic growth,» the statement read. «We look forward to continuing to partner with the Administration and to invest in America.»

FTC Director of Public Affairs Joe Simonson said the agency is «deeply disappointed» with the outcome of the case.

«The deck was always stacked against us with Judge Boasberg, who is currently facing articles of impeachment,» he said. «We are reviewing all our options.»

Republican lawmakers have tried multiple times to impeach Boasberg, a frequent political target of the Trump administration.

While Meta’s antitrust case may be over, it didn’t take place in a vacuum. Google recently settled a case with the FTC that resulted in the search giant being told it must share limited search and user-interaction data with «qualified competitors.» Another case targeting Google’s AI overview feature is ongoing in the European Union, as a group of publishers claims the company is causing harm due to a loss of traffic, readership, and revenue.

Technologies

Roblox Will Pay $12 Million to Settle Nevada Child Safety Lawsuit

The deal with the Nevada attorney general will require Roblox to have stricter safeguards to protect children online.

Popular gaming platform Roblox agreed to pay more than $12 million and implement new safety features as part of a settlement with the state of Nevada. This settlement comes amid several lawsuits accusing the company of an alleged lack of protection of children on the platform.

The agreement resolves potential litigation over allegations that Roblox failed to adequately safeguard children while they played the online game, Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford said in a press release on Wednesday.

As part of the deal, Roblox will spend $10 million over three years to encourage children to engage in non-digital activities, as well as institute age verification for all users. This will include «facial age estimation technology and government-issued ID for age assurance, and will use behavioral monitoring to identify users who may have been aged incorrectly,» according to the press release.

«The injunctive relief that Roblox has agreed to will give parents the tools they need to protect their children on the platform; institute default protections to block predators from engaging with children; and ensure that messages involving minors are not encrypted,» Ford said in the press release.

Roblox also committed to spending $1 million over two years on a campaign to educate minors and adults about online safety and another $1.5 million to develop a law enforcement liaison position to work with state law enforcement agencies over concerns about the platform.

Roblox Chief Safety Officer Matt Kaufman said it’s part of the company’s «work to establish a new standard for digital safety.»

«This resolution creates a blueprint for how industry and regulators can work together to protect the next generation of digital citizens,» Kaufman said Thursday. «We have no finish line when it comes to safety.»

Roblox is under significant legal pressure amid more than 140 lawsuits, according to Reuters. The suits, filed in 2025, allege the company knowingly created a gaming platform that allowed child predators to target minors.

The company also faces lawsuits from state attorneys general in Texas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Iowa, Nebraska, Tennessee and Florida over similar accusations.

Age-based accounts coming soon

Two days before the settlement announcement, Roblox CEO and founder David Baszucki revealed new accounts for younger Roblox users.

Roblox Kids will be available for children between the ages of 5 and 8, and Roblox Select is for those ages 9 to 15. Roblox is reportedly used by nearly half of US children under 16. Children who are older than 16 will be in their own age group, simply called «Roblox.»

Kids and Select accounts would be available in those age groups as determined by Roblox’s age-check technology or by a verified parent.

Unmonitored chat in the game has been a point of criticism for the platform, as it allows predators to chat with children. Kids’ accounts will have chat turned off by default, with limited access to Minimal or Mild games as determined by the platform. Select accounts will have chat with safeguards and access to games with Moderate content, which is described by the platforms as having «moderate violence, light realistic blood, moderate crude humor, unplayable gambling content, and/or moderate fear.»

These new age-based accounts will roll out sometime in early June.

Technologies

Opera Adds Browser Connector Feature to Integrate AI Chatbots Into Browsers

New feature will allow users to include the AI tools of their choice.

Opera announced Thursday the launch of a new tool that allows users of its browsers to include more AI chatbots in their browsing experience.

Browser Connector is a free feature for Opera One and Opera GX browsers that allows users to integrate AI tools such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Anthropic’s Claude into their live browsing sessions via Model Context Protocol. MCP is an open standard developed by Anthropic that allows for a secure two-way connection between AI models, external data sources and tools such as search engines.

(Disclosure: Ziff Davis, CNET’s parent company, in 2025 filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.)

Last month, Opera introduced MCP compatibility to Opera Neon, its subscription-based agentic AI browser. Opera says the new feature willallow a user’s AI of choice to provide real-time context of open tabs and active content.

«With Browser Connector, Opera ensures users aren’t bound to a single company’s ecosystem, but are instead free to combine the best tools for their specific needs,» Mohamed Salah, senior director of product at Opera, said in a statement.

To enable the feature, which is now available in Early Bird mode, users need to go to Settings in the browser, search for «AI Services» and install the Browser Connector feature. They then have to connect ChatGPT or Claude to the feature.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for April 17, #571

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for April 17 No. 571.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is a tricky one, especially the purple category. If you’re struggling with today’s puzzle but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: «Yer out!»

Green group hint: They score goals.

Blue group hint: Daddy dearest.

Purple group hint: Home, home on the…