In a courtroom showdown where the future of Instagram and WhatsApp hangs in the balance, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg took the stand this week in Washington, facing off against the Federal Trade Commission in a high-stakes antitrust trial.
The FTC wants to break up Meta’s empire, accusing the tech giant of buying up rivals instead of competing with them. Zuckerberg’s testimony offered a rare glimpse into Big Tech’s inner workings, past strategies, and the shifting sands of the social media world. Here are five standout moments from the proceedings.
1. The “Extreme Step” Zuckerberg Once Considered
Long before regulators came knocking, Zuckerberg had already contemplated the very outcome he’s now fighting to avoid. In a 2018 internal document presented at trial, he mused about spinning off Instagram to sidestep antitrust heat.
“I wonder if we should consider the extreme step of spinning Instagram out as a separate company,” he wrote.
That single sentence painted a stark contrast to the company’s current hardline defense and handed the FTC a powerful talking point: even the CEO saw it coming.
2. ‘Build or Buy?’ Instagram Was Just Better
Pressed on internal messages that seemed to label Instagram as a looming threat, Zuckerberg leaned into product pragmatism.
“We were doing a build vs. buy analysis,” he said. “I thought that Instagram was better at that, so I thought it was better to buy them.”
The FTC pounced on this rationale as proof that Meta snuffed out competition by acquisition. Meta countered that business motives are irrelevant if no monopoly exists. The jury, however, might be swayed by the candid simplicity of Zuckerberg’s admission.3. The Friends Are Gone – Social Media Has Evolved
In defending the past mergers, Zuckerberg argued that the digital landscape has mutated beyond recognition.
Only about 20% of content on Facebook and 10% on Instagram now comes from users’ actual friends, he noted. The rest? Algorithm-driven, interest-based feeds—more entertainment hub than social circle.
“People just kept on engaging with more and more stuff that wasn’t what their friends were doing,” he explained.
That shift, Meta claims, renders old definitions of a “social network monopoly” outdated.
4. The Rise of the Ad-Feed Machine
The FTC claims that fewer rivals meant more ads—and that Meta dialed up the monetization post-acquisition, benefiting shareholders over users.
Zuckerberg didn’t deny the ad-forward strategy. In fact, he said some users like ads.
“Meta’s system is designed to show more ad content to people who like seeing ad content,” he said.
He even admitted the company flirted with the idea of an all-ad feed, though it never made it to production.
5. TikTok: The One That Got Their Attention—Eventually
Zuckerberg acknowledged Meta’s late reaction to TikTok’s meteoric rise, calling it the “highest competitive threat” to Instagram and Facebook in recent years.
But the FTC isn’t buying that as a defense. Regulators argue TikTok and YouTube are content broadcasters, not friend-based networks, and therefore not part of the same market. Meta, on the other hand, insists that if TikTok counts, its market share isn’t nearly as dominant as claimed.
What’s Next?
The trial is far from over, but Zuckerberg’s testimony delivered pivotal moments that could shape its outcome. Whether his honesty and logic win the day—or end up becoming evidence against him—remains to be seen. The case could redefine what counts as a monopoly in the algorithm age.
