FTC to grill Mark Zuckerberg at antitrust trial as it seeks Instagram breakup amid Big Tech crackdown
The Federal Trade Commission wants to grill Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg next month during an antitrust trial seeking to unwind its Instagram acquisition as the feds ramp up a crackdown on Big Tech.
Zuckerberg is one of several key Meta executives who will be called to testify at the trial, according to a list of witnesses submitted by FTC attorneys in a Wednesday court filing. The trial is slated to begin in April.
The feds said Zuckerberg is expected to be questioned for seven hours ā far more than most others included on the list. For example, Instagram co-founder Kevin Systromās testimony is tabbed at an estimated three hours.
Aside from Zuckerberg and Systrom, notable executives included on the FTCās witness list include former Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, current Instagram chief Adam Mosseri and current Meta CEO Javier Olivan.
āWe are confident that the evidence at trial will show that the acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp have been good for competition and consumers,ā a Meta spokesman said in a statement.
The FTC alleges that the company formerly known as Facebook has maintained an illegal monopoly over the social media marketplace. Specifically, the feds say that the company overpaid to acquire Instagram for $1 billion in 2012 and WhatsApp for $19 billion in 2014 in order to stifle competition from the would-be rivals.
The feds want to force a breakup of Meta by forcing it to spin off Instagram and WhatsApp as independent companies.
The agency originally filed suit against Meta in 2020 during President Trumpās first term in office. Last November, US District JudgeĀ James Boasberg pared down some of the FTCās claims but said its core argument about Instagram and WhatsApp could proceed to trial.
At the same time, the judge suggested that the FTC faced an uphill battle to prove its claims.
āThe Commission faces hard questions about whether its claims can hold up in the crucible of trial,ā the judge said. āIndeed, its positions at times strain this countryās creaking antitrust precedents to their limits.ā
The FTC, led by Trump-appointed chairman Andrew Ferguson, has signaled it will continue to maintain a hardline stance toward the tech industry.
This week, the FTC confirmed it would pursue a lawsuit against Amazon for alleged deceptive practices involving its Prime subscription service ā hours after it asked for a delay in proceedings due to a lack of resources.
āI have made it clear since Day One that we will commit the resources necessary for this case. The Trump-Vance FTC will never back down from taking on Big Tech,ā Ferguson saidĀ in a statement.
Separately, the FTC is moving forward with a major antitrust probe targeting Microsoft, which began during former President Joe Bidenās term in office.
With Post wires
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