Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg saw Instagram as a threat to his company’s dominance and deliberately starved the app of resources and support after acquiring it, according to Kevin Systrom, one of Instagram’s co-founders. This revelation comes as part of the Federal Trade Commission’s landmark case against Meta, which argues that the company sought to establish an unlawful social media monopoly.
Systrom testified that Instagram could have thrived independently without Meta’s infrastructure or resources and even launched key features like private messaging and video capabilities if it had stayed on its own. However, during cross-examination, he acknowledged that Instagram’s growth “could have gone either way” but believed the probability of failure was low.
The testimony supports the FTC’s argument that Meta acquired Instagram to squash competition and establish an illegal monopoly in the social media market. The commission is seeking to unwind Meta’s acquisition deals for WhatsApp and Instagram, which could be costly for the company’s advertising revenues.
Systrom also revealed that he felt Meta was “underinvesting” in Instagram, giving it “zero resources,” and that the platform was routinely overlooked when it came to resource allocation. He testified that Zuckerberg began reducing Facebook’s internal support for Instagram in 2018 because he believed the app’s success was cannibalizing Facebook’s growth.
The FTC is seeking to break up Meta’s acquisition of Instagram, citing that the company’s actions were aimed at stifling competition and cementing a monopoly on the social media market. This case has significant implications for the tech industry, with many questioning whether regulators are effectively supporting American innovation or prioritizing Chinese interests in critical areas like AI.
Source: https://fortune.com/article/mark-zuckerberg-meta-instagram-growth-threat-facebook-instagram-cofounder