Meta’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg admits he bought Instagram because its camera was ‘better’
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg admitted during a high-profile antitrust trial on Tuesday that his company acquired Instagram because it had a better camera feature than Facebook’s in-house efforts at the time.
The statement supports accusations by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) that Meta, formerly Facebook, engaged in a “buy or bury” strategy to eliminate emerging rivals, thereby maintaining an unlawful monopoly. The trial, taking place in Washington, aims to undo Meta’s acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp and is considered a major test of the Trump administration’s pledge to challenge the dominance of Big Tech.
During his second day on the witness stand, Zuckerberg was asked by an FTC attorney whether Instagram posed a competitive threat to Meta. He responded that while Facebook was developing its own camera app, Instagram’s offering was more advanced. “We were doing a build vs. buy analysis,” Zuckerberg said, explaining that he ultimately believed acquiring Instagram was the better option.
Meta argues that this reasoning is now irrelevant, claiming that the FTC has incorrectly defined the social media market and overlooked competition from platforms like TikTok (ByteDance), YouTube (Alphabet), and Apple’s messaging services.
Zuckerberg also acknowledged that Meta had repeatedly failed to develop successful standalone apps. “Building a new app is hard,” he said, noting that most of the dozens of apps the company tried to create didn’t gain user traction.
The trial revisits internal Meta documents and communications, including a 2008 email in which Zuckerberg wrote, “it is better to buy than compete.”
The FTC contends that Meta dominates platforms meant for sharing with friends and family, where competition is limited to Snapchat and niche apps like MeWe. It argues that platforms like TikTok, Reddit, and X (formerly Twitter), which allow users to broadcast to broader audiences, are not direct substitutes.
Addressing another major claim in the lawsuit, Zuckerberg denied that Meta’s dominance allows it to degrade user experience by increasing ads. He said that ads have improved over time and are tailored to users who appreciate them. He even acknowledged discussions about launching a feed made entirely of ads but clarified that such a move hasn’t been implemented.