Back in 2018, Zuckerberg considered separating Instagram from Meta due to growing pressure from antitrust regulators.
Today, only about 20% of Facebook and 10% of Instagram content comes from friends.
The FTC argues that Meta’s monopoly allowed the company to flood Instagram with ads.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently testified at a high-stakes trial in Washington, where the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is trying to break up Meta’s ownership of Instagram and WhatsApp. The FTC claims Meta bought these two platforms to stop competition and protect its monopoly in the social media world.
SurveyZuckerberg’s testimony gave a rare look into how some of the biggest tech deals were made and how Meta views its competition. Here are five major takeaways from what Zuckerberg said.
1. Zuckerberg once thought about spinning off Instagram
Back in 2018, Zuckerberg considered separating Instagram from Meta due to growing pressure from antitrust regulators. A document shown in court revealed him saying, “I wonder if we should consider the extreme step of spinning Instagram out as a separate company,” He also noted, “While most companies resist break ups, the corporate history is that most companies actually perform better after they’ve been split up.”
Also read: Buying Snapchat, wiping everyone’s Facebook friends and other wild ideas Mark Zuckerberg considered
2. Why Meta bought Instagram
The FTC pointed to past messages in which Zuckerberg seemed worried about Instagram’s success. In court, he explained it differently. “We were doing a build vs. buy analysis” while developing a camera app, he said. “I thought that Instagram was better at that, so I thought it was better to buy them.” He claimed Instagram’s camera was simply better than what Meta had at the time, reports Reuters.
3. Social media is evolving
A major part of Meta’s defence is that the social media world has changed a lot since Meta bought Instagram and WhatsApp. Zuckerberg said users now follow content based more on interests than on friends and family. He testified, “People just kept on engaging with more and more stuff that wasn’t what their friends were doing.” Today, only about 20% of Facebook and 10% of Instagram content comes from friends.
4. Ad feed
The FTC argues that Meta’s monopoly allowed the company to flood Instagram with ads. Zuckerberg defended this, saying Meta’s system shows more ads to users who enjoy them. “I think we have discussed it at different points but I don’t think we have done it,” he said.
5. Late to compete with TikTok
Zuckerberg also admitted Meta was slow to respond to TikTok’s rise. He called it the “highest competitive threat for Instagram and Facebook.” However, the FTC doesn’t count TikTok or YouTube as direct rivals in this case.
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Ayushi Jain
Tech news writer by day, BGMI player by night. Combining my passion for tech and gaming to bring you the latest in both worlds. View Full Profile
