Key Takeaways
- Meta faces a critical antitrust challenge from the FTC that could force it to break up its $1.5 trillion empire by spinning off Instagram and WhatsApp
- The case hinges on whether Meta maintains a monopoly in "personal social networking," with Zuckerberg positioning TikTok as a formidable competitor to counter monopoly claims
- Failed settlement negotiations revealed a vast gap between parties: FTC demanded $30 billion while Meta initially offered just $450 million, later raising to $1 billion
- Uncomfortable internal emails from Zuckerberg discussing "neutralizing competitors" and building a "competitive moat" through acquisitions form a key part of the FTC's evidence
- A 2018 email from Zuckerberg himself acknowledged a "non-trivial chance" that Meta would be forced to spin off Instagram and WhatsApp due to antitrust concerns
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