Zuckerberg’s antitrust testimony aired his wildest ideas in Meta’s history
- Zuckerberg’s antitrust testimony revealed some of his wildest ideas for Meta’s future, including making Instagram a separate company and buying Snapchat.
- The FTC is trying to show that Meta has monopoly power in the personal social networking services market by acquiring newer competitors like Instagram and WhatsApp.
- Meta argues that it acquired these companies to expand its reach and compete with other social media platforms, rather than to stifle competition.
- Zuckerberg has testified for over 9 hours so far, and is expected to continue testifying on Wednesday, followed by Sheryl Sandberg.
- The outcome of the antitrust case could require Meta to sell off Instagram and WhatsApp if the FTC’s theory of the market is proven.
Making Instagram a separate company. Buying Snapchat. Wiping everyone’s Facebook friends. Creating a feed of only ads.
These were some of the ideas that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg considered over the years as he built his social media empire. Over the past two days, he talked about them from the witness stand at a federal courthouse in Washington, DC, where Meta is fighting the Federal Trade Commission on an antitrust case that could ultimately require it to sell off Instagram and WhatsApp.
Zuckerberg has so far testified for roughly nine hours. He’s expected to continue testifying on Wednesday, followed by Sheryl Sandberg. So far, the FTC has prodded him to confirm its theory of the market and understand his motivation for acquiring nascent rivals.
The FTC’s theory of the case is that Meta gobbled up newer competitors by buying Instagram and WhatsApp in the early 2010s, when it feared they would grow to challenge its dominance. The agency is trying to show that Meta has monopoly power in a market it calls personal social networking services, which is focused on connecting with friends and family and includes the apps Snapchat and MeWe.
Meta argues that the FTC has craf …
Read the full story at The Verge.