Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META, ETR:FB2A, SWX:FB) CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified on Tuesday that Facebook acquired Instagram because it had developed a better camera, a key admission in a high-stakes antitrust trial that could determine the future of the company’s ownership of Instagram and WhatsApp.
Under questioning from the Federal Trade Commission, Zuckerberg acknowledged that his company was conducting a "build vs. buy analysis" in 2012 when deciding whether to create its own camera app or acquire a fast-growing rival.
"I thought that Instagram was better at that, so I thought it was better to buy them," Zuckerberg said from the witness stand in federal court in Washington DC. "We were doing a build vs. buy analysis."
The admission appears to support the FTC’s allegation that Meta engaged in “killer acquisitions” — snapping up nascent competitors like Instagram to neutralize potential threats and maintain a monopoly over the social media landscape.
In court, government attorneys also introduced a 2018 email in which Zuckerberg appeared to suggest the possibility of spinning off Instagram as a standalone company. “While most companies resist break-ups, the corporate history is that most companies actually perform better after they’ve been split up,” he wrote at the time.
If the FTC prevails, Meta could be forced to spin off both Instagram and WhatsApp — a move that analysts say could erase hundreds of billions of dollars in market value.
Zuckerberg is currently testifying in defense of the company to avoid such a breakup.
Meta’s shares fell nearly 2% on Tuesday afternoon following the testimony.
The trial continues.