Cecilia Kang

Meta donates a million dollars to the Trump inauguration. He's really pulling out all the stops. He's pulling out all the stops. It's happening in rapid fire all within a compressed few weeks.

Meta donates a million dollars to the Trump inauguration. He's really pulling out all the stops. He's pulling out all the stops. It's happening in rapid fire all within a compressed few weeks.

Yeah, Rachel, I don't think so. The president still holds a grudge against Zuckerberg and Mehta. And as somebody very close to the president told me just a few days ago, the president still wants his pound of flesh.

Yeah, Rachel, I don't think so. The president still holds a grudge against Zuckerberg and Mehta. And as somebody very close to the president told me just a few days ago, the president still wants his pound of flesh.

Yeah, this case is really pretty novel in that this all centers around two acquisitions more than a decade ago, the acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp. And what the federal government is arguing is that Facebook had a monopoly when they bought these companies. And through these acquisitions, they were able to keep their monopoly.

Yeah, this case is really pretty novel in that this all centers around two acquisitions more than a decade ago, the acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp. And what the federal government is arguing is that Facebook had a monopoly when they bought these companies. And through these acquisitions, they were able to keep their monopoly.

The reason why that is such a eyebrow-raising argument in particular is because the very agency that is suing Meta was the agency that approved those mergers more than a decade ago in the first place. Mm-hmm. Okay, explain that. So I've got to take you back in a time machine to around 2011, 2012. And this was a really pivotal time for Facebook.

The reason why that is such a eyebrow-raising argument in particular is because the very agency that is suing Meta was the agency that approved those mergers more than a decade ago in the first place. Mm-hmm. Okay, explain that. So I've got to take you back in a time machine to around 2011, 2012. And this was a really pivotal time for Facebook.

Facebook really struggled to create an app for the smartphone. And they were starting to see competition, particularly from Instagram, that made Mark Zuckerberg very nervous. Because Instagram had this... new and very interesting photo sharing app. And so Zuckerberg in 2012 decided to buy Instagram, which didn't have that many users and had very few employees for a billion dollars. Wow.

Facebook really struggled to create an app for the smartphone. And they were starting to see competition, particularly from Instagram, that made Mark Zuckerberg very nervous. Because Instagram had this... new and very interesting photo sharing app. And so Zuckerberg in 2012 decided to buy Instagram, which didn't have that many users and had very few employees for a billion dollars. Wow.

That in itself was a big deal at that time, but regulators thought that it was such a small company, Instagram, and it didn't directly compete with Facebook as a social network, that they felt comfortable allowing that merger to go through. And then Zuckerberg got nervous again.

That in itself was a big deal at that time, but regulators thought that it was such a small company, Instagram, and it didn't directly compete with Facebook as a social network, that they felt comfortable allowing that merger to go through. And then Zuckerberg got nervous again.

Around 2014, he saw the rise of messaging apps like WeChat in China and WhatsApp, which was an app that was very popular globally, really picking up steam and getting tons of users around the world. And he was afraid that those kinds of messaging apps could also compete with Facebook because because they could take on more social features like sharing between friends and family.

Around 2014, he saw the rise of messaging apps like WeChat in China and WhatsApp, which was an app that was very popular globally, really picking up steam and getting tons of users around the world. And he was afraid that those kinds of messaging apps could also compete with Facebook because because they could take on more social features like sharing between friends and family.

So then in 2014, he buys WhatsApp for $19 billion. Wow. Huge price tag that drew a ton of interest at the time. But again, regulators said, you know, this app doesn't directly compete with Facebook. So yes, we'll approve it. So both mergers approved by the Federal Trade Commission.

So then in 2014, he buys WhatsApp for $19 billion. Wow. Huge price tag that drew a ton of interest at the time. But again, regulators said, you know, this app doesn't directly compete with Facebook. So yes, we'll approve it. So both mergers approved by the Federal Trade Commission.

Well, a couple things changed. First, Facebook becomes very powerful. It hits 3.5 billion users. And that sheer scale puts a spotlight on Facebook. Suddenly, people see that it has become an essential place for so many people around the world to obtain and to share information.

Well, a couple things changed. First, Facebook becomes very powerful. It hits 3.5 billion users. And that sheer scale puts a spotlight on Facebook. Suddenly, people see that it has become an essential place for so many people around the world to obtain and to share information.

And once people start recognizing that, especially around the 2016 and 2020 elections, it changes the perception of Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg. The other thing that changes is that regulators start looking at the Silicon Valley companies very differently. they see that these internet giants only get bigger and stronger in ways that are unexpected.

And once people start recognizing that, especially around the 2016 and 2020 elections, it changes the perception of Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg. The other thing that changes is that regulators start looking at the Silicon Valley companies very differently. they see that these internet giants only get bigger and stronger in ways that are unexpected.