Meta Executive President Mark Zuckerberg, on Wednesday, April 16, denied in the Court that the company bought rival Services Instagram and WhatsApp to neutralize the issue, since its testimony in a historical antimonopoly case came to an end. The case could see the Facebook owner forced to get rid of the two applications, which have become global powers since their purchases.
Duration of its third and last day in the stand in a Federal Court Chamber in Washington, Zuckerberg Tok pointed to the main argument of the Federal Commerce Commission: that Facebook, since he renamed goal, devoured what he considered competitive threats.
The Facebook co -founder responded “no” when the goal lawyer, Mark Hansen, asked if his intention was to eliminate the rivals with the purchases of the application to share Instagram photos and the WhatsApp messaging service. He explained that Instagram, bought in 2012, was attractive to “his camera experience and sharing photos”, but added that “he did not see it as a really competitive broad network with the place where we were.”
As for WhatsApp, bought two years later, Zuckerberg testified that he saw the application as technically impressive but its founders as “little ambitious” in terms of “maximizing the impact that could be power.”
“I basically ended up pressing to add things,” he told the Court. Zuckerberg testified that Facebook set its scale and resources to work on the construction of Instagram and WhatsApp in applications now used by billions of people.
The former goal director Meta, Sheryl Sandberg, testified after Zuckerberg, echoing much of what he told the court. Goal has had to assume a variety of rivals, including Internet Colossus Google, since Internet competition has become increasingly competitive, according to Sandberg.
“Every time you go to your computer or phone, you have the option to choose what your time happens,” Sandberg said. “That is why all these producers are competing: their time and attention.”
Tiktok as a new threat
A key part of the Court’s battle is how the Federal Commerce Commission convincingly defines the target market for the judge. The United States government argues that Facebook and Instagram are dominant players in applications that provide a way to connect with family and friends, a category that does not include Tiktok and YouTube.
Meta defense lawyers counteract that substantial investments transformed these acquisitions into the box office successes that are today. They also emphasize that goal applications are free for users and face a fierce competition. The case was originally presented in December 2020, in the last days of the first administration of President Donald Trump.
Zuckerberg, the third richest person in the world, has made repeated visits to the White House, since he has tried to persuade the president to choose an agreement instead of fighting the trial. As part of his lobbying efforts, Zuckerberg contributed to the Trump opening fund and reviewed content moderation policies. Hi, he also bought a $ 23 million mansion in Washington in what was seen as an attempt to spend more time near the center of political power.
Zuckerberg wrapped about 12 hours of testimony on Wednesday with a Tiktok evaluation, which said it arose as perhaps the greatest competitive threat to Instagram and Facebook. Meta has seen the growth of its applications slowly as the sensation of video-suippet with headquarters in China has boosted, so the American technological titan added a function of Tiktok type reels to say goodbye in the market, according to Zuckerberg.
“That said, Tiktok is still bigger than Facebook or Instagram, and I don’t like our competitors,” he told the court.
And as the video has become a favorite form of online media, particularly on smartphones, YouTube has become a serious target competition, the executive director testified.
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