Big Tech on Trial

Big Tech on Trial

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FTC v Meta Day 16: How IG Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Zuck
Adam Mosseri, Head of Instagram, returned to court on Day 16 of the FTC v. Meta antitrust trial, and we heard more from Meta marketing head Alex…
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Brendan Benedict
7
Survey Says: Facebook Is for Friends and Family
The FTC's survey expert, Michal Malkiewicz, backs up the government's case with data. But first, current WhatsApp head Will Cathcart, and the start and…
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Brendan Benedict
8
Instagram's Algorithm Recommended Minors to Putative Pedophiles
In Week 4 of FTC v. Meta Platforms antitrust trial, shocking statistics about Meta's failure to address known security risks, plus one more look at…
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Brendan Benedict
6
Meta Ranked Among "Worst Companies in the U.S."
On the 12th day of FTC v. Meta Platforms, survey king Curtiss Cobb comes back to the stand chastened, and we look at ad load with revenue head John…
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Brendan Benedict
12
The Sky Is Red: Meta's Flailing Defense Takes Serious Credibility Hit
Meta's in-house consumer survey guru Curtiss Cobb defends the indefensible on Day 11 of FTC breakup trial after executives from Tumblr and TikTok…
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Brendan Benedict
8

April 2025

"This Shit Is Getting Scary": Fear and Loathing in Menlo Park
Day 10 of FTC v. Meta Platforms took another look at the WhatsApp buy with Meta COO, Javier Olivan, and then went back to third parties with Apple.
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Brendan Benedict
9
Does Meta Really Compete with Reddit, Twitter, Strava, and Pinterest?
As we enter the third week of trial, we're learning a lot more about the landscape of social (and not-so-social) media. We also go deep into the cloud…
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Brendan Benedict
5
What Was WhatsApp Worth?
A flurry of expert and third-party witnesses on Days 7 and 8 of FTC v. Meta Platforms reveals details about WhatsApp's valuation and insights into…
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Brendan Benedict
3
"A Lot of Emotion": The Rocky Marriage of Instagram and Facebook
With Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom on the stand, the sixth day of the FTC v. Meta trial was the government's strongest yet.
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Brendan Benedict
10
The Bidding War: How Sequoia's Whisper Campaign Led to A $19 Billion WhatsApp Buyout
Day 5 of the FTC trial rounded out the WhatsApp story, taking us through an admitted rumor, a timely run-in that leaked a Google meeting, and some very…
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Brendan Benedict
4
Will A Court Really Take Away Google's Monopoly? The Antitrust Remedy Phase Starts.
Judge Amit Mehta held the first day of hearings on how to cure Google's illegal monopoly power. The government made a strong showing, while Google…
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Matt Stoller
1
TikTok Is "Not A Social Network"
Meta's relentless focus on TikTok as a competitor blows up in Day 4 of FTC v. Meta trial. That's good for the FTC.
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Brendan Benedict
9
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