The US government wants Mark Zuckerberg to sell Instagram and WhatsApp!

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg took to the witness stand in the prominent antitrust trial to defend his company, when it was accused of allegations for operating a social media monopoly.

To back his company’s acquisition strategy, he appeared in court as the first witness of the trial, which could dramatically reshape the future of the $1.4 trillion tech giant.

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His testimony came in after a case was brought by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in 2020, i.e. during the final days of the first Trump administration.

To stifle emerging competition, the US Competition Regulators had alleged that Meta for its unfair dominance in the market after it acquired Instagram, the photo-sharing app, in 2012, and WhatsApp, the messaging service app, in 2014. The Government claimed that Meta has left the users with no reasonable alternatives.

While the FTC is appealing for a breakup of Meta by forcing a spinoff of Instagram or WhatsApp, Meta is resistant to it, saying there's already a lot of competition in social media, including platforms like TikTok, X, and YouTube.

Mr Zuckerberg was the first witness in the case, which was held on Monday at a federal court in Washington, D.C. His attire included a dark suit with a light blue tie. The trial will most likely last for two months.

The Internal Emails evidence at the apex of the FTC’s case –

·   The FTC first pointed to a 2011 email by Mr Zuckerberg, which read - "Instagram seems like it's growing quickly."

·   The next year, in 2012, he sent another email that said, “The company was so far behind that we don't even understand how far behind we are. I worry that it will take us too long to catch up".

The Defence

While on the trial stand, Mr Zuckerberg had defended his statements by calling these emails as "relatively early conversations about buying the app”. He further added that Meta had improved and worked hard on Instagram over the years.

Mr Zuckerberg also mentioned that he bought Instagram for its camera technology, not for its social networking. The purchase intention was to bolster innovation and user experience.

Meta’s attorneys criticised the FTC’s characterisation of the social networking market as narrow and outdated. They argued that Meta is competing strongly with so many other successful digital platforms, like TikTok, Snapchat, YouTube, and even Apple’s iMessage, making it far from a monopoly.

The Allegations

·   The FTC stated that Meta had overpaid to acquire Instagram for $1bn and WhatsApp for $19bn. This was a defensive move. At Monday's trial, FTC lawyer Daniel Matheson in his opening statement said, "They decided that competition was too hard and it would be easier to buy out their rivals than to compete with them".

In their defence, Meta countered that the lawsuit from the FTC, which was originally reviewed and approved both those acquisitions, was "misleading".

·   The company's attorney, Mark Hansen, argued that Meta had acquired Instagram and WhatsApp to improve and grow alongside Facebook.

·   The FTC lawyer, Mr Matheson, cited a 2012 memo from Mr Zuckerberg in which he discusses the importance of "neutralising" Instagram. He called that message "a smoking gun".

In reply, Meta said the purchases made the consumer experience better. Meta said in 2024, Instagram had 3.27 billion daily active users across its products.

·   According to research firm EMarketer, with such high numbers, Instagram was expected to account for more than half of Meta's advertising revenue in the US in 2025.

·   Meta has been making regular advances on Trump since his election. The company had contributed $1m to Trump's inaugural fund. In 2025, Meta also added former Trump adviser and ally, Dina Powell McCormick and Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) boss Dana White, to Meta's Board of Directors.

Other charges include -

·   The company’s announcement in January to roll back content moderation policies that Republicans had accused of amounting to censorship.

·   Meta agreed to pay Trump $25m in settlement of the lawsuit over the suspension of his accounts after the US Capitol riot in 2021.

·   Mr Zuckerberg was seen visiting the White House in recent weeks.

·   As per the Wall Street Journal, the Meta boss has urged Trump in person to have the FTC drop the legal case.

When BBC asked for confirmation on these reports, Meta sidestepped the question but claimed: "The FTC's lawsuits against Meta defy reality."

Noteworthy Pointers

·   The Department of Justice has already won the first phase of that case last summer, when Judge Amit Mehta found that with a market share of around 90%, Google holds an incredible monopoly in online search.

·   Amazon and Apple have also faced such antitrust lawsuits by US enforcers.

·   Mr Zuckerberg is expected to continue with his testimony on Tuesday, and the trial could last until July.

·   If successful, then this case could lead Meta to forcefully divest the two platforms. This case will also mark as one of the most significant antitrust actions against a tech company in decades, if the FTC wins the trial.

 What’s at stake?

 As the FTC continues to argue that Meta’s overwhelming reach is not only due to its popularity but also a sign of diminished competition, something that the antitrust law needs to prevent, Meta will continue to defend by countering with a broad market networking outlook and the rising rivalry competition. 

Should the court side with the FTC, Meta is at the stake of risk of a potential breakup and loss of billions in ad revenue. 

To know all the future proceedings on the trial, stay connected with us @marketingmentor.in!