Zuckerberg’s Antitrust Fight: On Monday, April 14, 2025, Meta’s big boss, Mark Zuckerberg, took the stand in a huge Washington, DC, courtroom to defend his company. The US government says Meta’s acting like a social media kingpin, hogging the market by snapping up Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014. This trial, kicked off by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in 2020, could last two months!
The FTC argues that Meta plays dirty, buying rivals to stay on top instead of battling fair and square. They want to split Meta up, maybe forcing it to let go of Instagram or WhatsApp. Meta’s fighting back, saying there’s tons of competition out there—like TikTok, X, and YouTube—and they’re not bullying anyone.
Wearing a crisp suit and a light blue tie, Zuckerberg kicked off the trial with his testimony. The FTC brought up old emails from 2011 and 2012 where he called Instagram a fast grower and worried Meta was falling behind. Zuckerberg shrugged it off, saying those were just early chats and that Meta made Instagram way better after buying it. He also claimed he wanted Instagram for its cool camera tech, not to squash a rival.
The FTC says Meta paid crazy amounts—$1 billion for Instagram and $19 billion for WhatsApp—to keep competitors away. FTC lawyer Daniel Matheson said, “They chose to buy out threats instead of competing.” He even called a 2012 Zuckerberg note about “neutralizing” Instagram a major clue. Meta’s team, led by lawyer Mark Hansen, fired back, saying those buys made life better for users and were okayed by the FTC years ago.
Last year, Meta reported that 3.27 billion users interacted with its various apps every day, highlighting its vast reach. In 2025, Instagram is anticipated to represent approximately 50.5% of Meta’s advertising revenue in the United States, highlighting a crucial change in the company’s financial landscape. Meta is fostering a closer relationship with Trump, having donated $1 million for his inauguration and appointing some of his allies to its board. Zuckerberg’s even been to the White House lately, and some say he’s pushing Trump to drop the case, though Meta calls that nonsense.
This fight’s not alone—Google’s in hot water, too, for owning online search. Phillips-Sawyer argues that the presence of numerous social media alternatives makes it difficult for the FTC to convincingly argue that Meta dominates the market. Breaking Meta up? That’s a long shot, she says.
ALSO READ: Twitter Not Working: Social Media Platform Hit by Major International Issues
