The end of meta as we know it?
April 14, 2025 could go down in tech history as a turning point. A process with explosive potential begins in Washington: the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) wants to split up the Meta Group - and thus separate Instagram and WhatsApp from Mark Zuckerberg's empire. The reasoning: Meta illegally expanded its market power with the acquisitions in 2012 and 2014 and thus deliberately stifled competition in the social network sector.
For Mark Zuckerberg, there is more at stake than just a few apps. His life's work is at stake - and the question of whether a company has become too big, too powerful and too influential for a free society.
From an ingenious deal to a legal problem
What seemed like a clever business strategy at the time is now the subject of legal fine-tuning: one billion dollars for Instagram, 19 billion for WhatsApp - purchases that once made Meta a social media superpower. Today, these platforms generate the majority of Meta's advertising revenue and are considered key technologies in the race for supremacy in artificial intelligence.
But this is precisely where the FTC sees the problem. It accuses Meta of having neutralized potential competitors rather than promoting them. An internal Zuckerberg quote from 2012 puts it in a nutshell: "If they were to grow on a large scale, they could be very disruptive for us."
Clear the stage for a showdown of the giants
The trial begins with the key question: did Meta violate US antitrust law with the takeovers? If the court agrees, a second phase will follow - in which a decision could then also be made on an actual break-up.
The FTC is prepared. It not only wants to cross-examine Zuckerberg and COO Sheryl Sandberg, but also rivals such as Snap, Pinterest and Tiktok. Statements from the past, internal emails, market analyses - everything should show: Meta has secured a dominant position through acquisitions that is stifling the competition.
Meta counters: The market is diverse, the competition with Tiktok, YouTube or X is huge. The FTC's complaint? "Unrealistic", says a company spokesperson - and warns against weakening successful US companies and indirectly strengthening China.
Competition needs a clear edge - even against tech giants
Buying up markets instead of conquering them jeopardizes economic diversity. Of course Zuckerberg & Co. have done a lot of things right - but that is precisely the point. If at some point success is only achieved through size and takeovers, it no longer has much to do with free competition.
What used to be clever can now be tricky under antitrust law. The digital world has changed - and the law must follow suit. The question of whether Tiktok and YouTube are real competitors or separate categories will be decisive. But we think so: Anyone who "owns" billions of people digitally must not shirk their responsibility.
Will Meta be smashed in the end? That remains to be seen. But one thing is certain: this process will rewrite the rules of the game in the tech industry. And that is long overdue.
