On "Forbes Newsroom," Forbes Staff Writer Emily Baker-White discussed the FTC case against Meta in which CEO Mark Zuckerberg has taken the stand this week.
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00:00Is there a legal precedent? You mentioned the Google antitrust case, or are we flying blind, legally speaking?
00:08There is some legal precedent, and this case is likely to make a lot, too.
00:14Fascinating. As we think about the ramifications, I know this trial just began, so we're probably a long way away from a verdict, much less the ramifications from those verdicts.
00:24But what are the stakes for Metta in this case?
00:27They're enormous. So if Metta loses, Metta could be forced to break off those other companies that has become a really part, really a core part of the Metta sort of family of apps, as they call them.
00:43A Metta where Instagram is no longer a part of the company, a Metta where WhatsApp is no longer a part of the company, is a really, really different company.
00:52So this is existential for Metta.
00:55Would Zuck get a choice?
00:57And if one has to be divested, or is that something a judge would say, like, you have to get rid of WhatsApp or you have to get rid of Instagram?
01:05If the FTC makes its case successfully here, the next step is to determine what the remedy is.
01:15And Metta is, of course, arguing that the idea of, like, unraveling these acquisitions or splitting these companies off is infeasible and undesirable for lots of reasons.
01:25But we're just going to have to see if the FTC is successful, we'll be having that conversation.