Meta’s Antitrust Trial: Key Testimony from Sheryl Sandberg

On Wednesday, the ongoing antitrust trial against Meta Platforms, Inc. META featured notable testimony from former COO Sheryl Sandberg. She discussed Meta’s strategies to block advertisements from competitors such as Alphabet Inc.’s GOOG GOOGL Google Plus, KakaoTalk, and LINE.

META’s Anticompetitive Actions Discussed

During the trial, Sandberg referenced internal emails from 2011 and 2012, which the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) claims demonstrate Meta’s attempts to restrict competitors from advertising on its platform, according to a report by the Washington Post.

FTC lawyer, Susan Musser, challenged Sandberg concerning an email sent post-launch of Google Plus. In it, Sandberg acknowledged that the new platform represented a significant challenge to Meta.

In response, Sandberg indicated her comments aimed to, as she put it, “rally the troops” against a formidable tech rival introducing a product closely resembling Facebook.

Further discussions with Meta’s legal team revealed that Sandberg believes Meta has always faced various competitors, including YouTube, Pinterest PINS, and more recently, TikTok.

Zuckerberg’s Testimony Reinforces Market Concerns

Earlier that day, Mark Zuckerberg took the stand for the third consecutive day. He conceded that Meta’s short-form video feature, Reels, is “pretty good” but acknowledged that TikTok continues to surpass both Facebook and Instagram in popularity.

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Significance of the Trial

This trial has unveiled confidential communications between Sandberg and Zuckerberg regarding their discussion on the $1 billion acquisition of Instagram. Notably, a spring 2012 text from Zuckerberg asked Sandberg if the price seemed excessive, to which she replied, “Yes.” When asked if she maintains that opinion, Sandberg stated, “I think I was wrong. I think I was very wrong.”

The FTC’s allegations against Meta assert a “buy or bury” strategy, focusing on anti-competitive practices rather than just product innovation.

Moreover, the trial also explored past acquisition attempts by Meta, including a $6 billion proposal for Snap Inc. SNAP, which Zuckerberg defended during his testimony.

Market Reaction

Following the day’s developments, Meta shares dropped by 3.68%, closing the trading day at $502.31, as per Benzinga Pro data.

Currently, the company holds a momentum score of 55.37% and a growth score of 74.89%, based on Benzinga’s Edge Rankings.

Click here to see how Meta compares to Snapchat, Alphabet, and other leading tech companies.

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Disclaimer:This content was partially produced using AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.