Mark Zuckerberg’s private emails about Facebook’s purchase of Instagram and WhatsApp took center stage in the FTC antitrust trial this week, casting a dark cloud on Meta’s future. The Federal Trade Commission presented a series of explosive messages that reveal Zuckerberg’s attempts to neutralize competitors and crush upstart apps.
The 2012 exchange between Zuckerberg and an underling, where he said buying Instagram would “neutralize a competitor,” was labeled a “smoking gun” by FTC lead attorney Daniel Matheson. In another email, Zuckerberg mused on whether Meta should consider spinning off Instagram to get ahead of regulators.
These candid messages provide a rare glimpse into Zuckerberg’s mindset and antitrust experts say they represent the strongest part of the government’s case against Meta. Rebecca Haw Allensworth, an antitrust law expert, stated that these emails are “smoking-gun evidence” of Meta’s anticompetitive tactics.
Zuckerberg denied that the emails showed anticompetitive intent, claiming they were a sign of his paranoia about competitors beating Facebook. However, the FTC argues that Meta is dominant over a narrow market for social media companies and that Zuckerberg’s actions demonstrate its use of a “buy or bury” strategy to crush upstart apps.
The outcome of the non-jury trial hinges on which definition of Meta’s market is determined by the judge to be more accurate. The case will likely turn on whether the government can prove Meta’s monopoly power issues are substantial enough to warrant breaking up the company.
Experts say that Zuckerberg’s testimony and the emails themselves have wide-ranging repercussions, with antitrust advocates calling for harsh penalties for Meta. As one former FTC official noted, “These emails indicate a clear intent to buy off potential competitors and real internal concern with the legal implications of these anticompetitive decisions.”
Source: https://nypost.com/2025/04/18/business/mark-zuckerbergs-explosive-emails-about-instagram-whatsapp-take-center-stage-at-ftc-antitrust-trial