Internal Meta documents from a U.S. trial show Mark Zuckerberg explored splitting Instagram from Meta in 2018 because of increasing antitrust challenges. Through an email Zuckerberg expressed that Instagram and WhatsApp had a realistic chance of being removed from Meta and he noted that split companies tend to perform better after separation.
Zuckerberg testified that Facebook’s camera platform was inferior to Instagram so he bought the company for $1 billion. The FTC received additional evidence from Zuckerberg when he described Instagram as a “rapidly growing, threatening network” which supported their theory about Meta’s “buy or bury” approach to eliminate competitors.
The Federal Trade Commission leads a trial to reverse Meta’s WhatsApp and Instagram acquisitions because they believe the company created an unlawful monopoly. Meta’s failure to develop new successful applications repeatedly led Zuckerberg to admit that the company needed acquisitions to eliminate competitors.
The Federal Trade Commission maintains that Meta controls platforms for sharing content with friends and family yet Meta responds by pointing to its competition from TikTok and YouTube and Apple. The tech giant faces ongoing legal challenges because of emails dating back to 2008 where Zuckerberg wrote “it is better to buy than compete.”
