About a year prior to the Federal Trade Commission initiating its antitrust investigation into Meta’s acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp, CEO Mark Zuckerberg internally proposed the possibility of separating Instagram into an independent company.
In a 2018 email to his executives, Zuckerberg expressed that although most companies resist break-ups, historically, many companies tend to perform better after being divided. This memo was presented in court when he testified during the FTC’s anti-monopoly case, where Meta is defending itself against a government lawsuit that could potentially lead to its dissolution.
Meta invested billions in acquiring Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014. However, by 2018, Zuckerberg perceived that changing political climates might result in what he described as a significant possibility of being compelled to separate Instagram and possibly WhatsApp within the next 5-10 years. He cautioned his executive team about the real prospect that all their efforts to create a suite of apps might not remain in their possession.
“It’s not too hard to imagine increased calls to break up the tech companies, with a future democratic president being prompted to take such action,” Zuckerberg wrote during President Donald Trump’s first term. “At that point, we will face intense pressure, potential damage to our brand, and significant distraction.”
Currently, Meta is embroiled in an antitrust trial, defending against the FTC’s allegations that it unlawfully monopolized a segment of the social media market through its acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp, both of which the agency seeks to separate. The FTC claims these acquisitions were made to eliminate potential competitors and consolidate Meta’s dominance. In response, Meta contends that the case is both factually and legally unfounded.
While Meta is presently contesting a potential breakup, Zuckerberg has considered this outcome for some time. He stated in 2018 that he understood the business value of keeping Instagram and Facebook together, so his suggestion was made with caution. He added that although he did not see separation as the likely outcome, it was not as implausible as it might initially appear.
