Meta Beats Appeal in App Developer Suit Seeking Facebook Breakup

Meta Platforms Inc. beat an appeal in an antitrust suit Monday, as the Ninth Circuit affirmed dismissal of a proposed class action brought by four app developers who alleged that the social media titan used improper tactics to kill off rivals after acquiring WhatsApp and Instagram.

The developers alleged that Facebook aimed to crush competing apps by blocking their access to critical software tools unless they kicked back cash or data. They sought to have the WhatsApp and Instagram deals undone before their full integration into Facebook’s flagship platform.

In April 2021, Judge Beth Labson Freeman of the U.S. District ...