Meta’s opening statement slides from its FTC antitrust hearing have been found to have easily removable redactions.
The redactions, which were intended to hide sensitive information, actually reveal details about Meta’s competitors and their success stories.
A comparison slide shows that Apple’s Messages app is similar to Meta apps like Instagram and WhatsApp.
Another slide from 2020 highlights the success of TikTok, YouTube, and other social media platforms over Meta’s own services.
The leak has drawn comparisons to a previous incident where Sony used Sharpie to hide information in court documents, which was later revealed under a document scanner’s bright light.
A PDF of Meta’s opening statement slides in its FTC antitrust hearing yesterday contains easy-to-remove redactions that make it possible to see everything the company didn’t want made public, The Verge has discovered.
Thanks to the poor redactions, we can see sections comparing the use of Apple’s Messages app to Meta apps like Instagram and WhatsApp. The original slide displayed only a quote from Apple director of product marketing Ronak Shah describing an iMessage “core use case” allegedly similar to Facebook’s. Another, labeled “Snapchat in 2020: Competitors Are Succeeding and Not Just Meta Apps,” says that “Tiktok, Insta, FB, Messengers and YouTube” are “thriving.”
Those aren’t especially juicy details; at most, it looks like someone was just being cautious — or trying to be, anyway — with slides that came from other companies’ internal meetings. But the leak calls to mind mid-2023, when Sony spilled PlayStation secrets by using sharpie to hide information — which let the darker printed ink below be visible under, say, the bright light of a document scanner — in court documents shared in the Microsoft antitrust trial.
Q. What was discovered about Meta’s antitrust trial slide redactions?
A. The PDF of Meta’s opening statement slides contains easy-to-remove redactions that reveal information the company didn’t want made public.
Q. What can be seen in the leaked slides despite the redactions?
A. Sections comparing the use of Apple’s Messages app to Meta apps like Instagram and WhatsApp, as well as a slide mentioning competitors like TikTok, YouTube, and Snapchat.
Q. Why were the redactions likely used by Meta?
A. It appears that the redactions were used out of caution or an attempt to be overly cautious with information from other companies’ internal meetings.
Q. Is the leak of Meta’s slides similar to a previous incident involving Sony and PlayStation?
A. Yes, both incidents involve hiding information using poor redaction techniques, allowing sensitive details to become visible under certain conditions.
Q. What was the context of the Microsoft antitrust trial mentioned in the article?
A. The Microsoft antitrust trial involved court documents shared by Sony, which used sharpie to hide information that became visible when scanned under bright light.
Q. Are the leaked slides considered “juicy” details?
A. No, they are not especially revealing or sensitive; rather, they appear to be cautious or overly cautious statements from other companies’ internal meetings.
Q. What is the significance of the comparison between Apple’s Messages app and Meta apps?
A. The comparison suggests that Meta was trying to downplay the similarities between its own messaging services and those offered by competitors like Apple.
Q. Can the leaked slides be seen as a deliberate attempt by Meta to hide information?
A. No, it seems more likely that the poor redactions were an accident or a result of caution rather than a deliberate attempt to conceal information.
Q. How did the article discover the leaked slides?
A. The Verge discovered the PDF of Meta’s opening statement slides containing the easy-to-remove redactions.
Q. What is the broader context of the antitrust trial involving Meta?
A. The article does not provide detailed information about the broader context of the antitrust trial, but mentions that it involves Meta and its interactions with competitors like Apple.
