Mark Zuckerberg spoke about the Orion AR glasses during the Meta Connect event held on Wednesday, September 25, 2024, in Menlo Park, California. The announcement was made during his presentation at the conference. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
According to an internal email revealed during an ongoing antitrust trial, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg considered splitting Instagram from Facebook in 2018. The email came to light on the second day of a courtroom battle that may eventually decide whether Meta must separate from Instagram and WhatsApp, two platforms it acquired over a decade ago.
In that email, Zuckerberg expressed concern over increasing pressure from regulators. He mentioned the possibility of spinning off Instagram to meet long-term goals, hinting that federal authorities might force Meta to break up in the coming years anyway. He even acknowledged that companies sometimes perform better after they’re split apart — a rare admission from a CEO.
When asked in court on Tuesday about what historical examples he was thinking of when writing that email, Zuckerberg admitted he didn’t recall any specific cases. The CEO spent over seven hours on the witness stand over two days, facing questions from Federal Trade Commission (FTC) attorney Daniel Matheson.
Matheson questioned Zuckerberg about past emails, many written over a decade ago, suggesting that Facebook saw Instagram as a growing threat. One message described Instagram as a “rapidly growing, threatening, network.” Matheson pointed out that buying the company could be seen as a way to shut down competition.
But Zuckerberg challenged that interpretation. He said Meta was excited to acquire Instagram because it had a strong product — especially its mobile camera app. Facebook was working on a similar tool, but Instagram’s was more polished. “So I wanted to buy them,” he told the court.
Zuckerberg also dismissed the idea that the acquisition was purely to eliminate a competitor. He argued the email in question was being misread, saying it was written during early discussions about whether the purchase made sense.
The FTC’s case leans heavily on these internal communications to show that Meta bought Instagram and WhatsApp to dominate the market unfairly. One email from 2012 showed Zuckerberg telling a colleague that Instagram and another app, Path, were creating “meaningful networks” that could seriously disrupt Facebook.
Zuckerberg explained that this message was part of a broader conversation about whether Facebook should acquire companies to boost its own capabilities. He said purchasing the apps — and developing them further — made business sense.
Later in the day, Meta’s attorney Mark Hansen began his line of questioning. He stressed that Meta’s platforms are free to use and face plenty of competition. Zuckerberg echoed this view, saying if Facebook charged money, users would just switch to other apps offering similar services at no cost.
The lawsuit, filed by the FTC in 2020 under President Donald Trump’s administration, accuses Meta of trying to monopolize the social media space. It argues that Facebook’s acquisitions were meant to weaken rivals rather than improve services.
Instagram was bought for $1 billion in 2012 when it had no ads and fewer users. Facebook allowed it to run independently — unlike its earlier pattern of buying and dissolving smaller companies. Two years later, it bought WhatsApp for $22 billion, expanding its hold on the messaging world. Both apps helped Facebook evolve from desktop to mobile, keeping younger users interested even as newer platforms like TikTok emerged.
However, the FTC’s definition of Meta’s competitors leaves out platforms like TikTok, YouTube, and Apple’s iMessage, which Meta argues should be considered when assessing its market power.
The trial continues under U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, who previously rejected Meta’s request to dismiss the case, allowing it to proceed to trial.
