FTC Vs Meta Antitrust Trial – Mark Zuckerberg Admits Instagram Had Better Tech Than Facebook

The trial, which began Monday, has already highlighted internal Meta communications showing that Zuckerberg once floated the idea of wiping users’ Facebook friends to boost the platform’s relevance.

Meta (META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg reportedly admitted on Tuesday that his company acquired Instagram in part because the photo-sharing platform had a superior camera function to Facebook’s internal efforts at the time. 

The comment, made during a federal antitrust trial in Washington, lends weight to the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) argument that Meta pursued a “buy or bury” strategy to eliminate competition and preserve monopoly power.

“We were doing a build versus buy analysis,” Zuckerberg testified, according to a report by Reuters. “I thought that Instagram was better at that, so I thought it was better to buy them.”

The FTC is seeking to unwind Meta’s acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp, arguing that the company used its market dominance to stifle emerging rivals. 

Central to the case is a 2008 internal email from Zuckerberg in which he wrote, “It is better to buy than compete.”

Zuckerberg’s second day on the stand also included an acknowledgment that Meta’s internal app development efforts frequently failed. “Building a new app is hard,” he said. “We’ve probably tried dozens over the history of the company, and the majority of them don’t go anywhere.”

The FTC's lawsuit is among the most consequential antitrust actions against a U.S. tech company in years. If successful, the agency could force Meta to divest both Instagram and WhatsApp — two key drivers of its global user engagement and advertising revenue.

Meta maintains it does not hold monopoly power, citing competition from TikTok, YouTube, iMessage, and other platforms. It argues that market dynamics have shifted dramatically since the Instagram and WhatsApp acquisitions.

The trial, which began Monday, has already highlighted internal Meta communications showing that Zuckerberg once floated the idea of wiping users’ Facebook friends to boost the platform’s relevance, according to a report by Fortune.

Meta's stock fell more than 2% in Tuesday afternoon trading. The shares are down 26% in 2025 and flat over the past 12 months.

For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.<