Dana Mattioli
Appearances
The Journal.
Does Meta Have a Social Media Monopoly?
You know, there's been a bipartisan effort in recent years on antitrust. It's very strange. We have a very politically divisive climate we're in where Republicans and Democrats can't seem to agree on anything. But we have this movement on antitrust. to say that these companies have gotten too big, they've abused their power, and something has to happen.
The Journal.
Does Meta Have a Social Media Monopoly?
And I think that that movement really does have legs, and we've seen really prominent people from both sides of the aisle support these efforts.
The Journal.
Does Meta Have a Social Media Monopoly?
Instagram was this hot, upstart, small... I think it was available only for iPhones at the time. And it didn't have any advertising on it. It was really just a way for people to share photos with heavily filtered photos, I should say. And at the time, it definitely caught the attention of Mark Zuckerberg.
The Journal.
Does Meta Have a Social Media Monopoly?
He had a certain philosophy around acquisitions and startups. You know, there's one 2008 email from him saying, it is better to buy than compete. So you could sort of see his viewpoint here that when things got big enough, rather than trying to go head to head with them, he decided to buy them and bring them under the fold.
The Journal.
Does Meta Have a Social Media Monopoly?
So in 2020, the FTC files its lawsuit against Meta. And it's a time, it's actually this zeitgeisty moment when the tide has sort of turned on big tech in the U.S. These companies were held up for years and years and years as bastions of innovation, as do no harm, as, you know, feel good companies. And things start to really change in that time period.
The Journal.
Does Meta Have a Social Media Monopoly?
And a lot of the big tech companies start facing scrutiny, not just from consumers, but from regulators as well.
The Journal.
Does Meta Have a Social Media Monopoly?
The Justice Department is considering a probe of the iPhone maker.
The Journal.
Does Meta Have a Social Media Monopoly?
This was not a very friendly relationship. A lot of conservatives were also really, really angry at Zuckerberg for donating $400 million to different election offices around the time of COVID. They thought that that benefited Democrats.
The Journal.
Does Meta Have a Social Media Monopoly?
And that was something that he and his people were livid about. He'd even spoken about maybe locking Zuckerberg up, like jailing him.
The Journal.
Does Meta Have a Social Media Monopoly?
After the assassination attempt over the summer in Butler, Pennsylvania, Zuckerberg called Trump and basically told him, you know, you're such a badass, something along those lines. So that was like one of the first overtures. And then once it became clear that Trump was going to be president, there was this like full court press, not just by Zuckerberg, by some of his peers as well.
The Journal.
Does Meta Have a Social Media Monopoly?
And what we saw was this million dollar check from Meta for the inauguration. He went to the inauguration and sat on the dais with all the other prominent CEOs, which was not something you would have seen In 2016, he settled a $25 million lawsuit with Donald Trump, which lawyers viewed as kind of a frivolous lawsuit. And then he made policy changes at Meta. You know, he relaxed content moderation.
The Journal.
Does Meta Have a Social Media Monopoly?
The Federal Trade Commission sued Meta for being a monopoly, and they alleged that the company preyed on small competitors and bought them, took them off the market, before they could emerge as very big competitors to them.
The Journal.
Does Meta Have a Social Media Monopoly?
There had been a lot of concern from conservatives about the suppression of Republican voices on his platform. So we saw a lot of actions like that. There was a lot of... kissing the ring, that we think that Meta was hoping would go a long way.
The Journal.
Does Meta Have a Social Media Monopoly?
Not only were they lobbying the White House to intervene on their behalf, but they were also trying to settle the lawsuit with the Federal Trade Commission. And we had some very exclusive details on how that went down. Please share. Yeah.
The Journal.
Does Meta Have a Social Media Monopoly?
So, you know, the way these things are done is typically a CEO and his general counsel and, you know, other lawyers will have meetings with the FTC ahead of a trial and they might be able to hash out a deal. Right. What we learned was that Meta offered a settlement of $450 million to the FTC, which is a very small amount.
The Journal.
Does Meta Have a Social Media Monopoly?
And the FTC said they were thinking that it should be more of like a $30 billion settlement. When you think about the number that was on offer... For a company as big as Meta's, you know, some might find it insulting. I spoke to FTC's former chair, Lena Kahn, for my story, and she told me that the $450 million settlement offer was, quote-unquote, delusional.
The Journal.
Does Meta Have a Social Media Monopoly?
And she said, you know, Mark bought his way out of competing, so I'm not surprised that he thinks he can buy his way out of law enforcement, too. What came across in our reporting was that Zuckerberg felt confident that the White House would intervene on his behalf.
The Journal.
Does Meta Have a Social Media Monopoly?
In the end, they didn't work. And there was a big meeting held in the Oval Office a week prior to the trial starting where aides and advisors met with Trump in the Oval Office and just said, you know, that this is an important lawsuit and it should move forward. And he got his blessing.
The Journal.
Does Meta Have a Social Media Monopoly?
There are people around Trump who have told him, and we've reported this, that don't believe this MAGA rebrand. Remember what he did to you.
The Journal.
Does Meta Have a Social Media Monopoly?
If the FTC succeeds, there's a possibility that Meta would have to divest these companies, which would be very unusual. I mean, it could mean that they have to sell Instagram and WhatsApp.