Knocked In Court! Zuckerberg Threatened To Lose Instagram And WhatsApp!

JAKARTA - Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg appeared in Washington's federal court on Monday April 14 in an important antitrust trial filed by the United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC). In this case, Meta is accused of building an illegal monopoly by acquiring Instagram and WhatsApp to eliminate competition against Facebook.

This case is seen as a test for President Donald Trump's government's commitment to dealing with the dominance of big tech companies (Big Tech), and could pose an existential threat to Meta. The FTC demands that Meta be broken down, including the possibility of relinquishing ownership of Instagram and WhatsApp.

Zuckerberg, who was present wearing a dark suit and a light blue tie, denied allegations that Meta bought the two apps to shut down competitors. He explained that from the start, the platform's top priority was to share content with friends and family, although now users' trends are more inclined towards content that doesn't come from their friendship circle.

"We misunderstood how social engagement developed online," Zuckerberg said in his testimony, quoted by VOI from Reuters. He revealed that currently only about 20% of content on Facebook and 10% on Instagram comes from user friends, while the rest of the accounts they follow are based on interest.

Reasons For Questioned Acquisition

The FTC relies on evidence in the form of Zuckerberg's emails from 2012 and 2014 showing its intention to buy Instagram and WhatsApp to neutralize threats against Facebook. At that time, Zuckerberg was worried that WhatsApp could develop into its own social network thanks to its encrypted messaging service.

However, Meta denied the allegations. The company stated that the acquisition actually benefits users and currently Meta is facing tight competition from TikTok (owned by ByteDance), YouTube (Google), and iMessage (Apple).

Meta will also argue that the spike in Facebook and Instagram usage during TikTok was temporarily blocked in the US indicating direct competition between platforms.

The FTC insists that Meta holds a monopoly on the realm of the platform that allows users to share content with friends and family, where its main competitors are Snapchat and MeWe, a small privacy-based app launched in 2016.

The FTC also confirms that platforms such as TikTok, YouTube, Reddit, and X (formerly Twitter) where users spread content to the wider public cannot be considered as a functional replacement for Facebook and Instagram.

Big Bet For Meta

US District Judge James Boasberg, in an initial decision in November 2024, stated that the FTC faces a major challenge to prove its claims at trial. The trial is expected to last until July. If the FTC wins, the agency will have to prove separately that Meta's breakdown will restore market competition.

The biggest loss to Meta will come if it is forced to release Instagram. According to Emmarketer projections, Instagram is expected to generate ad revenue of US$37.13 billion (Rp624.6 trillion) by 2025, representing more than half of Meta's total ad revenue in the US. In fact, Instagram is now scoring higher revenue per user than other platforms, including Facebook.

Meanwhile, WhatsApp currently only contributes a small part of Meta's revenue. But this application is the largest in terms of daily number of users. Meta is now intensively developing WhatsApp monetization features, such as business chatbot services and commercial messaging, which Zuckerberg claims will be the company's next growth motor.

This case is part of a wave of antitrust lawsuits against tech giants that began during President Trump's first leadership. Since being re-elected, Trump has shown a more open attitude towards Big Tech. Meta also often takes strategic steps to approach the White House, including revoking content moderation policies that Republicans see as a form of censorship, and contributing USD 1 million to Trump's inauguration.

Zuckerberg himself has reportedly visited the White House several times in recent weeks. Other companies such as Amazon, Apple, and Google are also facing antitrust cases filed by US federal authorities.

Although now many technology companies are trying to adapt to the Trump administration, for example by canceling diversity programs and getting closer to government executives, this approach has not resulted in easing the ongoing antitrust lawsuits.