Mark Zuckerberg Takes Stand In Meta Antitrust Trial
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg took the witness stand in the Federal Trade Commission’s antitrust trial, defending his company against the government’s claim that is an anti-competitive monopoly that has tried to eliminate rivals.
In a blue suit and white blue tie, Zuckerberg carefully read through a series of emails and other documents as the government’s attorney grilled him on changes made to Facebook through the years.
The FTC‘s attorney, Daniel Matheson, is trying to show that, despite changes across social media, Facebook’s core driver remains family and friend connections. That is important to the government’s case, as it has argued that Meta holds a monopoly over that segment of social media.
In his testimony, though, Zuckerberg said that the interest “has gotten built out a lot more than the friend part.” The portion of users turning to Facebook see news about their friend connections has gone down “quite a bit” in favor discovering what is going on in the world around them. The feed, Zuckerberg said, has “evolved into a discovery engine.” Meta’s attorney argued that they compete on a much larger playing field than merely news feeds from friends and family members, to short-form videos and messaging.
In one email, sent in April 2022, Zuckerberg wrote to two Meta executives, Tom Alison and Christopher Cox, about his concerns that Facebook’s “cultural relevance” may be waning. Zuckerberg wrote about potential changes in strategies, including what he referred to as a “crazy idea” to wipe out everyone’s friend connections “and having them start again.”
Matheson tried to highlight how friends and family connections remained the “core value proposition.” He pointed to them message that new users get before they register, which “tells them to log in and connect with friends and family and people you know.”
Asked about the message, Zuckerberg said, “I am not sure what it is today,” adding that Facebook “probably tested different messages” in that marketing to new users.
