In recent days, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg took the stand at a Federal Trade Commission antitrust lawsuit against his company, Meta. The central argument of the FTC is that Zuckerberg acquired WhatsApp and Instagram for the sole purpose of eliminating competition, rather than improving their services. However, in his testimony, Zuckerberg made it clear that he believed both acquisitions were instrumental in expanding Meta’s reach, and that they would be beneficial to Facebook and its users.
During the trial, Zuckerberg was asked about his decision to purchase WhatsApp for $19 billion in 2014. He defended the decision by saying that he “would do it again,” demonstrating his commitment to growing Meta’s presence within the realm of private messaging apps. The FTC claims that Zuckerberg acquired the app out of fear that it would grow into a major social media competitor, but in court, he stated that his interactions with WhatsApp co-founders Jan Koum and Brian Acton led him to believe otherwise.
In fact, Zuckerberg testified that both Koum and Acton had strong disdain for social media and advertising. However, after the acquisition, it was Zuckerberg who pushed them to add more social features, such as Stories, to WhatsApp. He argued that his investment in WhatsApp was valuable in helping Facebook navigate the shift towards private conversations online, a shift he believed could have had a significant impact on the company’s future growth.
Moreover, Zuckerberg explained that acquiring WhatsApp also gave him leverage in negotiating with Apple and Google, both of whom rely heavily on Meta for their app store distribution. He acknowledged that this strategy may not have been as effective as he had hoped, but it was one factor that influenced his decision to buy the company.
Zuckerberg’s testimony shed light on the growth of Instagram as well. When Facebook acquired the photo-sharing platform in 2012, Zuckerberg stated that he wasn’t concerned about competition until years later when Instagram reached the milestone of 1 billion users. He then directed the Instagram team to rely less on feature integrations with Facebook for traffic, which ultimately led to the departure of co-founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger.
Despite these challenges, Zuckerberg emphasized that his investment in Instagram was crucial in helping it fight spam and scale its operations. He revealed that the app had only 10 million users at the time of acquisition and that he predicted it would be extremely unlikely for Instagram to achieve success on its own. However, under Meta’s guidance, Instagram has grown exponentially and now boasts over 2 billion users.
In summary, Mark Zuckerberg’s defense of his decisions to acquire WhatsApp and Instagram underscore the importance of growth and expansion in a highly competitive digital landscape. While some may argue that these acquisitions were made with the intent of stifling competition, Zuckerberg believes that they were key investments for Meta, allowing the company to diversify its offerings and better serve its users. As the trial continues, it will be interesting to see how the FTC responds to this argument and whether or not they can prove their claim that Meta is engaged in anticompetitive behavior.
