Zuckerberg could be forced to break Meta up
Mark Zuckerberg is facing a massive antitrust trial that could force him to break up Meta and say goodbye to Instagram and WhatsApp. Is this the end of his social media empire?
A major antitrust trial is underway in Washington, and it could shake up the entire tech world.
At the centre of it all is Mark Zuckerberg and his social media empire, Meta.
The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has taken Meta to court, accusing the company of unfairly squashing competition by buying up potential rivals (namely Instagram and WhatsApp) over a decade ago.
According to the BBC, the FTC argues Meta didn’t want to compete fairly, so it just bought the competition instead.
“They decided that competition was too hard,” said FTC lawyer Daniel Matheson, pointing to internal memos from Zuckerberg himself that suggest Meta’s goal was to “neutralise” Instagram before it became a real threat.
One 2012 email from Zuckerberg even flat-out said it’s “better to buy than to compete”. Yikes.
Meta, of course, is pushing back. Their legal team says the acquisitions weren’t about destroying rivals but about growing great products.
Instagram and WhatsApp, they argue, are now better platforms because of Meta’s resources.
Still, the stakes are sky-high. If the FTC wins, Zuckerberg could be forced to break up Meta, potentially spinning off both Instagram and WhatsApp into separate companies.
That’s not just a corporate headache; it’s a huge moment in tech history.
Experts are divided on whether the FTC can actually pull this off. Some say it’s going to be tough.
Compared to Google’s clear dominance in online search, Meta faces more competition in the social media world – from the likes of TikTok, YouTube and even iMessage.
No matter how this plays out, this trial is a big deal.
It could reshape the way Big Tech does business and remind giants like Meta that no empire is untouchable.
Let’s see how it unfolds.
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