Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg made a significant admission this week during a high-profile U.S. antitrust trial: he bought Instagram because its in-app camera technology was better than what Facebook had been developing at the time. The statement, made under oath during Zuckerberg’s second day of testimony in Washington, D.C., is being seen as a major boost to the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) case against the social media giant.
The FTC has accused Meta—formerly Facebook—of monopolistic behavior, alleging that it pursued a “buy or bury” strategy to stifle competition in the social networking space. At the heart of the case is Meta’s acquisition of Instagram in 2012 for $1 billion and WhatsApp in 2014 for $19 billion, both of which the FTC now seeks to unwind.
“Build vs. Buy” Decision
In court, Zuckerberg was asked if Facebook could have built its own camera app to compete with Instagram. He replied, “We were doing a build vs. buy analysis,” ultimately concluding that Instagram’s product was superior. “I thought that Instagram was better at that, so I thought it was better to buy them.”
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Zuckerberg acknowledged that many of Facebook’s in-house app-building attempts had failed. “Building a new app is hard,” he said, adding that “the majority of them don’t go anywhere.” This admission supported the FTC’s narrative that Meta frequently failed to innovate internally and instead acquired rising competitors.
Smoking-Gun Emails Resurface
The FTC presented damning internal communications to support its case, including a 2012 email where Zuckerberg told then-COO Sheryl Sandberg: “Instagram is growing so much faster than us that we had to buy them for $1 billion.” He also referenced Facebook Messenger, admitting it wasn’t “beating WhatsApp,” which Meta later acquired.
In another 2012 email to then-CFO David Ebersman, Zuckerberg admitted that purchasing Instagram would effectively “neutralize a competitor.” He wrote, “One way of looking at this is that what we are really buying is time.”
A 2018 internal document added further weight to the FTC’s argument, showing Zuckerberg worried about increasing political scrutiny of Big Tech. “I wonder if we should consider the extreme step of spinning Instagram out as a separate company,” he wrote, noting a “non-trivial chance” that Meta would eventually be forced to divest.
Meta Is a Social Media Monopoly
The FTC contends that Meta holds a monopoly in the social media space for apps that allow users to share content with friends and family. It claims that platforms like TikTok, YouTube, and Reddit serve different purposes—primarily content broadcasting to strangers—making them poor substitutes for Facebook or Instagram.
In contrast, Meta argues that the FTC is defining the market too narrowly and ignoring intense competition from newer entrants like TikTok, Alphabet’s YouTube, and Apple’s messaging platforms. “The ‘friend’ part has gone down quite a bit, but it’s still something we care about,” Zuckerberg told the court when asked about Facebook’s current role in connecting users with personal contacts.
Future of Meta’s Empire at Stake
If U.S. District Judge James Boasberg sides with the FTC, the case could move into a second phase aimed at determining how to dismantle Meta’s alleged monopoly. Potential remedies could include forcing Meta to spin off Instagram and WhatsApp—both central to the company’s revenue streams.
Instagram alone is projected to generate more than half of Meta’s U.S.-based advertising revenue by 2025, according to research firm Emarketer. WhatsApp, while less lucrative in the U.S., plays a significant role in Meta’s global communication platform.
Zuckerberg Under Pressure
Zuckerberg tried to push back on the FTC’s portrayal, insisting that Meta’s motivations weren’t solely based on fear of competition. “It’s not accurate to say that the only reason we were interested was the scale or growth rate,” he said. Still, under the weight of past emails and internal analysis, his arguments may not be enough to persuade the court.
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Additional high-profile witnesses, including former COO Sheryl Sandberg, Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom, and current Instagram head Adam Mosseri, are expected to testify in the coming weeks. Their appearances could offer further insights into the company’s decision-making process during its period of aggressive acquisitions.