Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg considered spinning off Instagram in 2018 due to growing concerns over antitrust scrutiny, according to an internal memo shown during his testimony at a federal trial this week.
The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is seeking to unwind Meta’s past acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp, arguing the company bought its rivals to maintain a monopoly in social networking.
In the memo, Zuckerberg wrote, “There is a non-trivial chance that we will be forced to spin out Instagram and perhaps WhatsApp.” He raised the idea while Meta was planning to link its apps more closely.
Although Meta did not pursue the spin-off, the document shows that Zuckerberg was aware of potential legal risks years before the current trial.
He also noted that most companies perform well after breakups, saying the “synergies are usually less than people think.”
During the hearing, Zuckerberg defended Meta’s purchase of Instagram, saying the app had a better camera than what Facebook was building at the time. “We were doing a build-versus-buy analysis,” he told the court.
The FTC argues that Meta used a “buy or bury” strategy to block competition. Meta says its platforms still face strong rivals like TikTok and YouTube.
Zuckerberg admitted Meta had tried to build many apps in the past, but most failed to gain traction.
If the FTC wins the case, Meta could be forced to separate Instagram and WhatsApp from the company—a move that would reshape the social media industry and impact Meta’s ad business.
