Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealed during the ongoing antitrust trial against the company that he once considered spinning off Instagram due to growing concerns about potential antitrust scrutiny. This revelation came to light through a 2018 internal memo presented during Zuckerberg’s testimony in the case where the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is seeking to unwind Meta’s acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp.
In the 2018 memo, Zuckerberg wrote, “I wonder if we should consider the extreme step of spinning Instagram out as a separate company.” At the time, Meta, then known as Facebook, was exploring ways to more closely integrate its family of apps. While Zuckerberg saw potential for “strong business growth” through this consolidation, he also cautioned that it could erode the value of Facebook’s core social network and wouldn’t guarantee the long-term retention of all their apps.
Zuckerberg’s memo also acknowledged the increasing political pressure on big tech companies. He noted, “As calls to break up the big tech companies grow, there is a non-trivial chance that we will be forced to spin out Instagram and perhaps WhatsApp in the next 5–10 years anyway,” even mentioning the potential for action under a future Democratic president.
Ultimately, Meta did not spin off Instagram and proceeded with its plan to unify its platforms. However, the emergence of this memo during the antitrust trial underscores the seriousness with which Zuckerberg viewed the potential regulatory challenges.
During his testimony, Zuckerberg also admitted that Meta acquired Instagram because its camera features were superior to what Facebook was developing internally. He stated, “We were doing a build vs. buy analysis. I thought that Instagram was better at that, so I thought it was better to buy them.” This aligns with the FTC’s argument that Meta employed a “buy or bury” strategy to eliminate competition.
The FTC’s lawsuit, filed in 2020, alleges that Meta has illegally maintained a monopoly in the social media market through acquisitions like Instagram and WhatsApp. Meta argues that the FTC’s definition of the market is too narrow and doesn’t account for competition from platforms like TikTok and YouTube.
The trial is ongoing, and Zuckerberg is expected to testify further. The outcome could have significant implications for Meta, potentially forcing the company to divest its highly valued Instagram and WhatsApp assets.