Washington: Meta CEO and co-founder Mark Zuckerberg appeared in a Washington, D.C. courtroom on Monday to testify in a pivotal antitrust trial brought by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The case accuses Meta of using its market dominance to eliminate competition through strategic acquisitions—specifically Instagram and WhatsApp.
Zuckerberg’s testimony marks the culmination of a nearly six-year federal investigation into Meta’s business practices. The trial is seen as a crucial test of U.S. antitrust enforcement in the tech sector and could reshape how Meta conducts acquisitions in the future.
FTC lead attorney Daniel Matheson opened the questioning with a pointed remark about the social media landscape of the past. “In hindsight, you’re glad you didn’t sell to MySpace?” he asked.
“Yes,” Zuckerberg replied, as the courtroom observed a moment that symbolized the shifting tides of regulatory scrutiny that Big Tech now faces, regardless of changes in political leadership.
Focus on Instagram Acquisition
Much of the FTC’s case centers on internal communications from Meta’s early days. Matheson presented several emails to illustrate how Meta executives viewed Instagram as a serious threat before acquiring it in 2012.
One 2011 email described Instagram as a breakout success on smartphones and warned that it could quickly replicate Facebook’s core functions. Another message, shown from 2012, discussed keeping Instagram running without significant upgrades while Facebook developed its own features—suggesting a potential strategy to neutralize the competition.
Zuckerberg dismissed these early discussions as speculative. “Those were early talks before there was any concrete plan,” he said in response.
In another internal exchange, Zuckerberg had described Instagram’s rapid growth as “really scary” and voiced frustration over the sluggish development of Facebook’s photo-sharing tools, particularly Facebook Camera. He referred to some members of the team as “checked out.”
In a separate email to an engineering executive, Zuckerberg warned: “If Instagram continues to kick ass on mobile or if Google buys them, then over the next few years they could easily add pieces of their service that copy what we’re doing now.”
When asked if Instagram and Facebook were competing to connect people, Zuckerberg replied, “Yeah, of course.” However, he added, “Was that the main thing that was going on? Not to my recollection.”
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Meta’s Defense Pushes Back
During opening statements, Meta’s lead attorney Mark Hansen criticized the FTC’s claims, arguing that the agency defined the social media market too narrowly by excluding major platforms like TikTok and iMessage.
“This is a grab bag of FTC theories at war with the facts and at war with the law,” Hansen said.
Meta’s legal team maintains that its acquisitions were legal and beneficial to consumers, providing improved features and better security across platforms.
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Implications for Big Tech
The trial is expected to last several weeks and could have wide-reaching implications. A ruling against Meta may limit its ability to pursue future mergers and acquisitions and could even lead to structural changes within the company.
For Zuckerberg and Meta, this trial represents more than legal scrutiny—it challenges the very strategy that helped build the company into a global tech giant.
