Mark Zuckerberg takes the helm to save his Facebook empire: “It’s no longer good for connecting with family and friends”
Facebook’s founder takes the stand as a historic antitrust trial begins—one that could break up Meta and force the sale of Instagram and WhatsApp.
Mark Zuckerberg is once again at the center of controversy, this time in a trial that could become a landmark moment in the history of technology and digital business.On Monday, April 14, 2025, a major lawsuit against Meta—parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp—kicked off in Washington, spearheaded by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). This is no minor dispute: Zuckerberg himself was called as the first witness to defend the legality of the acquisitions that cemented Meta’s dominance in social media.
The FTC accuses Meta of pursuing a systematic strategy of “killer acquisitions” to eliminate key rivals. At the center of the conflict are Meta’s purchases of Instagram in 2012 for $1 billion and WhatsApp in 2014 for $19 billion.
During his testimony, Meta’s CEO admitted that Facebook is no longer what it once was: “The platform no longer primarily serves to connect with friends and family,” he stated. Instead, he argued, Meta now provides a way to discover content, follow trends, and engage in global conversations.
Zuckerberg sought not only to reframe the identity of his platforms but also to justify the acquisitions. “Thanks to our investments, Instagram and WhatsApp didn’t just survive—they became essential tools for billions of people,” said the 40-year-old executive.
The ghost of monopoly
To the FTC, however, these purchases were deliberate moves to eliminate competition and solidify a dominant market position. FTC attorney Daniel Matheson presented internal emails in which Zuckerberg referred to Instagram as a “terrifying threat” that had to be neutralized "at any cost." A $6 billion offer made to Snap in 2013, which was rejected, also came to light.
Under U.S. antitrust law, the combined power of Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram allegedly gives Meta undue influence over the digital market—particularly in advertising and messaging. Currently, Instagram accounts for more than half of Meta’s ad revenue, and WhatsApp serves around 2 billion daily active users.
Meta is fighting back by portraying itself not as a monopoly, but as just one player in a competitive landscape. It points to platforms like TikTok, YouTube, Reddit, and X (formerly Twitter) as active competitors. Meta’s legal team also stresses that these acquisitions were approved by regulators at the time, and reversing them now would send a chilling message to tech investors.
Meta’s chief legal officer, Jennifer Newstead, was blunt: “This case is weak and harmful. It makes no sense to attack a successful American company while the government is also trying to counter the rise of TikTok.”
The trial is expected to run through July. If the FTC wins this initial phase, it will still need to argue in a second stage that forcing Meta to divest Instagram and WhatsApp would actually help restore competition in the market.
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