By AFP
April 9, 2025
Mark Zuckerberg (C), seen here attending the inauguration of US President Donald Trump, is expected to take the stand as Meta goes to trial over antitrust claims - Copyright POOL/AFP Shawn THEW
Alex PIGMAN
Barring any eleventh-hour intervention, social media juggernaut Meta will stand trial next week facing serious US government allegations that it abused its market power to acquire Instagram and WhatsApp before they could become competitors.
By moving forward, the trial in a Washington federal court dashes any hopes from Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg that the return of Donald Trump to the White House would see the government let up on the enforcement of antitrust law against Big Tech.
The Meta case is being made by the Federal Trade Commission, the powerful US consumer protection agency, and could see the owner of Facebook forced to divest Instagram and WhatsApp, which have grown into global powerhouses since their buyout.
The case was originally made in December 2020, during the first Trump administration, and all eyes were on whether Trump would soften his stance against Big Tech during his second stint in the White House.
Zuckerberg, the world’s third-richest person, has made repeated visits to the White House as he tries to persuade the US leader to choose settlement instead of fighting the trial, a decision that would be extraordinary at this late stage.
FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson downplayed such possibilities, telling The Verge: “I think that the President recognizes that we’ve got to enforce the laws, so I’d be very surprised if anything like that ever happened.”
Zuckerberg’s lobbying efforts have included Trump inauguration fund contributions and overhauled content moderation policies favoring Republicans.
Even so, “I’m not sure Trump is persuaded that Zuckerberg is worthy of redemption,” said George Hay, an antitrust law professor at Cornell Law School.
While a White House intervention remains technically possible, it would require both presidential and FTC agreement that the case lacks merit, he added.
The Meta lawsuit represents just one of five major tech antitrust actions initiated by the US government recently. Google was found guilty of search market dominance abuse last August, while Apple and Amazon also face cases.
Zuckerberg, his former lieutenant Sheryl Sandberg, and a long line of executives from rival companies will be taking the stand over a trial that will last at least eight weeks and kicks off on Monday.
– ‘Really scary’ –
Central to the case is Facebook’s 2012 billion-dollar purchase of Instagram — then a small but promising photo-sharing startup designed for mobile phones that now boasts two billion active users.
An email from Zuckerberg cited by the FTC reveals the concerns: “The potential impact of Instagram is really scary and why we might want to consider paying a lot of money for this.”
The FTC argues Meta’s $19-billion WhatsApp acquisition in 2014 followed the same pattern, with Zuckerberg fearing the messaging app could either transform into a social network or be purchased by a competitor.
Meta’s defense will argue that substantial investments transformed these acquisitions into the blockbusters they are today, bearing little resemblance to their original versions.
They’ll also highlight that the FTC initially approved both transactions and shouldn’t be permitted a redo.
Recent court setbacks for the FTC — including failed challenges to Meta’s Within acquisition and Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard merger — may strengthen Big Tech’s position.
Judge James Boasberg, who will decide and preside over the case, has already cautioned that the FTC “faces hard questions about whether its claims can hold up in the crucible of trial.”
Author of explosive Meta memoir to star at US Senate hearing
By AFP
April 9, 2025
Meta co-founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has cozied up to US President Donald Trump since the Republican was elected
By AFP
April 9, 2025
Meta co-founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has cozied up to US President Donald Trump since the Republican was elected
- Copyright GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP Samuel Corum
The former Facebook employee behind a scathing book about parent company Meta will testify Wednesday before US senators keen to establish whether the social networking giant ever collaborated with the Chinese government.
Former global policy director Sarah Wynn-Williams has alleged the company explored the possibility of breaking into the lucrative Chinese market by appeasing Beijing’s government censors.
Meta communications director Andy Stone told AFP the company “ultimately decided not to go through with the ideas we’d explored.”
The company’s family of apps is currently blocked in China.
Wynn-Williams’s testimony at a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing will focus on Meta’s foreign relations moves and on what its executives have previously told Congress.
Of particular interest at Wednesday’s hearing, headed by Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri, is whether Wynn-Williams contradicts what Meta co-founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has stated under oath during past congressional hearings.
Wynn-Williams’s book, “Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed and Lost Idealism,” was released on March 11 and became a hot seller despite Meta winning an arbitration court order barring the author from promoting the work or making derogatory statements about the company.
Her book recounts working at the tech titan from 2011 to 2017 and includes claims of sexual harassment by longtime company executive Joel Kaplan, a prominent Republican and ally of President Donald Trump who took over as head of Meta’s global affairs team this year.
Meta took the matter to arbitration, contending the book violates a non-disparagement contract signed by Wynn-Williams when she worked with the company’s global affairs team.
Stone said Wynn-Williams was “fired for poor performance and toxic behavior,” having made a series of allegations that the company investigated and found to be unfounded.
“Careless People” ranks second on a New York Times bestseller list of nonfiction books, with another title highly critical of Meta close behind.
“The Anxious Generation,” which paints a dark picture of social media’s effect on children, is currently fourth on the Times bestseller list, a year after its release.
The former Facebook employee behind a scathing book about parent company Meta will testify Wednesday before US senators keen to establish whether the social networking giant ever collaborated with the Chinese government.
Former global policy director Sarah Wynn-Williams has alleged the company explored the possibility of breaking into the lucrative Chinese market by appeasing Beijing’s government censors.
Meta communications director Andy Stone told AFP the company “ultimately decided not to go through with the ideas we’d explored.”
The company’s family of apps is currently blocked in China.
Wynn-Williams’s testimony at a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing will focus on Meta’s foreign relations moves and on what its executives have previously told Congress.
Of particular interest at Wednesday’s hearing, headed by Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri, is whether Wynn-Williams contradicts what Meta co-founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has stated under oath during past congressional hearings.
Wynn-Williams’s book, “Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed and Lost Idealism,” was released on March 11 and became a hot seller despite Meta winning an arbitration court order barring the author from promoting the work or making derogatory statements about the company.
Her book recounts working at the tech titan from 2011 to 2017 and includes claims of sexual harassment by longtime company executive Joel Kaplan, a prominent Republican and ally of President Donald Trump who took over as head of Meta’s global affairs team this year.
Meta took the matter to arbitration, contending the book violates a non-disparagement contract signed by Wynn-Williams when she worked with the company’s global affairs team.
Stone said Wynn-Williams was “fired for poor performance and toxic behavior,” having made a series of allegations that the company investigated and found to be unfounded.
“Careless People” ranks second on a New York Times bestseller list of nonfiction books, with another title highly critical of Meta close behind.
“The Anxious Generation,” which paints a dark picture of social media’s effect on children, is currently fourth on the Times bestseller list, a year after its release.
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