As an antitrust trial against Meta Platforms entered its second day, its founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, continued to present a statement defending his company. Meanwhile, the U.S. President Donald Trump, who Mark has been lobbying with, still has not pulled back the case.
Back in 2020, a lawsuit accusing Meta, known as Facebook at that time, was filed, claiming that the company purchased Instagram and WhatsApp to eliminate its competitor and build an illegal monopoly in the social media market.
If the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) could prove this claim, it can force Meta to restructure or sell the acquired companies. On the first day trial (April 15), the agency pointed out Mark’s email showing his proposal to acquire Instagram, and his concern over WhatsApp’s potential.
Mark responded by stating that his takeover has helped increase their value. He also stated Meta became more confident in finding potential applications, acquiring them, and increasing their capability to the level they can not accomplish on their own.
As for today’s trial, the FTC now presented Mark’s email indicating his consideration of spinning off the photo-sharing app in 2018. Mark responded by stating that the process could grow business strongly. However, the company did not move on with the plan and ultimately integrate its app next year.
Another strategy to end this case that Mark may pull is lobbying with Trump. He even donated $1 million to Trump’s inauguration. Other tech companies also aligned themself with the U.S. president as they faced their own antitrust lawsuits. However, Trump’s intervention on Meta’s case remains a no show.
