The first week of the ongoing antitrust trial against Meta has shed fresh light on how the company—formerly known as Facebook—evaluated the competitive threat posed by Instagram in the early 2010s, revealing critical details through internal communications obtained by government attorneys. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), alleging that Meta violated antitrust laws through its acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp, has presented the court with emails that demonstrate how closely Facebook executives, including CEO Mark Zuckerberg, monitored and worried about Instagram’s rapid growth.
According to evidence presented by government lawyers, executives at Facebook had serious concerns about Instagram’s accelerating momentum from as early as 2011. In internal communications, Zuckerberg voiced unease at the app’s swift ascent, highlighting how quickly Instagram’s user numbers were accumulating. By February 2011, Zuckerberg noted that Instagram had grown to 2 million users in only four months, alongside 30,000 daily photo uploads. Also expressing apprehension, Chief Product Officer Chris Cox mentioned Instagram’s rapid rise early in 2011 and suggested it confirmed Facebook’s emerging strategy to simplify its mobile experience through independent, lightweight apps.
Additional emails presented by the FTC provided more insight into Zuckerberg’s evaluation of Instagram’s business threat. By September 2011, Zuckerberg observed that Instagram’s rapid growth—doubling in size every few months, with a rising user base then estimated at around 5 to 10 million people—posed a direct competitive risk. He warned that each delay in developing Facebook’s own competing product directly enabled Instagram’s further foothold in the market.
By early 2012, the inner discussions shifted from mere concern to direct strategic planning. Zuckerberg notably proposed acquiring Instagram, speculating over paying as much as $500 million due to its superior photo-sharing technology and unique user experience. Acknowledging that Instagram might have identified a market niche Facebook itself had failed to appreciate fully, Zuckerberg argued internally that there was merit in paying a high price to secure what he recognized as essential technological and strategic strengths.
Furthermore, Facebook considered alternative strategies to stifle the threat. Zuckerberg described one plan involving acquiring Instagram and purposely slowing down its feature development. This approach aimed to avoid user outrage while preventing a void in the market that another rival could fill. He detailed this strategy clearly in internal communications, advocating to integrate Instagram’s successful camera elements into Facebook’s own product suite while reducing Instagram to little more than maintenance-level operations.
Samuel W. Lessin, then vice president of product at Facebook, also advocated a broader acquisition strategy, suggesting in a 2012 message to Zuckerberg that Facebook consider acquiring innovative companies like Pinterest, Evernote, and Path in addition to Instagram. These efforts would purportedly secure talented teams for the company and integrate valuable features into Facebook’s core platform over time.
In summarizing the strategic logic behind these potential acquisitions, Zuckerberg openly stated that acquiring Instagram and other rapidly growing apps would essentially buy Facebook valuable time. Even if other competitors emerged eventually, securing these acquisitions early would afford Facebook critical months—or years—to incorporate successful dynamics into its offerings and to build competitive moats safeguarding its business dominance.
These internal discussions have provided a clear view into the aggressive strategies and competitive mindset that ultimately allowed Meta to become one of the world’s largest social networking companies. With the FTC using such evidence to argue that Facebook systematically purchased or subdued perceived rivals to stifle competition, the antitrust litigation continues. If successful, the U.S. government could potentially force Meta to divest its ownership in Instagram and WhatsApp, significantly reshaping the landscape of social media.
