Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg Testifies in Landmark US Antitrust Trial Over Instagram, WhatsApp Acquisitions
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified on Monday in a landmark antitrust trial, defending the company’s acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp as strategic moves to grow and improve its services, not to quash competition.
The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) argues that Meta’s multibillion-dollar purchases of Instagram (2012) and WhatsApp (2014) were part of a calculated effort to neutralize emerging threats to Facebook’s dominance. The agency seeks a court order requiring Meta to divest both platforms.
During the trial, prosecutors presented internal emails suggesting that Facebook, then led by Zuckerberg, viewed Instagram as a growing rival that could be neutralized through acquisition.
In one 2011 email, a Facebook executive warned that Instagram was thriving on mobile and could eventually challenge Facebook’s core offering. A 2012 message showed discussions about keeping Instagram unchanged post-acquisition while Facebook developed similar features.
Zuckerberg downplayed the emails, stating they were preliminary thoughts that did not reflect final strategic decisions. “I think we misunderstood how social engagement online was evolving,” he said.
The FTC contends that Meta has used its market power to degrade user experience and eliminate competitors, pointing to the saturation of ads and product changes on Facebook and Instagram. It argues that apps like TikTok and YouTube serve a different user purpose and cannot be considered direct competitors.
Meta disagrees, asserting that competition is fierce and that its apps remain free to use. Meta attorney Mark Hansen emphasized that acquisitions designed to improve and expand services are not illegal under US law.
The FTC claims that Meta’s $19 billion acquisition of WhatsApp in 2014 followed a similar playbook, with internal communications revealing fears it could evolve into a competitive social platform or be bought by a rival.
Meta says it transformed WhatsApp into a secure, feature-rich messaging app, demonstrating its commitment to innovation and user benefit.
At the heart of the case is whether Meta’s acquisitions harmed competition and whether reversing them would benefit consumers. The FTC has argued that social media services for connecting with family and friends — dominated by Facebook and Instagram — form a distinct market.
Meta contends that user behavior shows overlap with other platforms like TikTok, YouTube, and Apple’s iMessage, citing increased traffic during TikTok’s brief US outage as evidence of interchangeability.
Prosecutors also highlighted Zuckerberg’s lobbying of the Trump administration, including contributions to the inauguration fund and changes to Facebook’s content policies. He reportedly purchased a $23 million mansion in Washington to stay close to political power during the period of rising scrutiny.
The case, filed in December 2020, is expected to continue for at least eight weeks, with testimonies from former COO Sheryl Sandberg and executives from rival firms on the docket.