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國際時事跟讀 Ep.K979: Zuckerberg Fights to Keep Meta Intact
Highlights 主題摘要：
- Mark Zuckerberg is defending Meta against claims that buying Instagram and WhatsApp created an illegal monopoly that hurts competition.
- Court evidence shows Zuckerberg once worried about Instagram and WhatsApp as competitors before buying them for billions of dollars.
- Meta makes $160 billion yearly from advertising across its platforms, with Instagram expected to generate over half of US revenue by 2025.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg took the witness stand this week in a high-stakes antitrust trial that could reshape the social media landscape forever. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) alleges that Meta has built an illegal monopoly through strategic acquisitions of potential competitors. If the government prevails, the tech giant could be forced to divest Instagram and WhatsApp, platforms that have become fundamental to its business empire.
Meta 執行長馬克・祖克柏本週出庭，面對一場可能永遠改變社群媒體格局的高風險反壟斷審判作證。聯邦貿易委員會指控 Meta 透過策略性收購潛在競爭對手，建立了非法壟斷。若政府勝訴，這家科技巨擘可能被迫分拆 Instagram 和 WhatsApp，這兩個已成為其商業帝國基石的平台。
The trial, which began in Washington DC, has already revealed fascinating insights into Meta's acquisition strategy. Court documents show that Zuckerberg was acutely aware of competitive threats years ago. In a 2011 email, he wrote that "Instagram has become a large and viable competitor to us on mobile photos, which will increasingly be the future of photos." Another memo discussed "neutralizing" Instagram, which the FTC lawyer dramatically called "a smoking gun." When questioned about WhatsApp, evidence showed Zuckerberg told executives he worried the messaging app could "start winning in the US and other markets," while another executive admitted having "sleepless nights" over WhatsApp being "the real deal." Meta ultimately purchased Instagram for $1 billion in 2012 and WhatsApp for $19 billion in 2014.
此案在華盛頓特區開庭，已經揭露了關於 Meta 收購策略的精彩內幕。法庭文件顯示，祖克柏多年前就已清楚意識到競爭威脅。在 2011 年的一封電子郵件中，他寫道：「Instagram 已成為我們在手機照片領域的強大競爭對手，而手機照片將越來越成為照片的未來。」另一份備忘錄討論「消除」Instagram 的威脅，被聯邦貿易委員會律師戲劇性地稱為「鐵證」（還在冒煙的槍）。當被問及 WhatsApp 時，證據顯示祖克柏曾告訴高管他擔心這款通訊應用可能「開始在美國和其他市場獲勝」，而另一位高管則承認因為 WhatsApp 是「真正的威脅」而「徹夜難眠」。Meta 最終在 2012 年以 10 億美元收購了 Instagram，並在 2014 年以 190 億美元收購了 WhatsApp。
Perhaps most surprisingly, Zuckerberg once contemplated voluntarily breaking up his company. In a 2018 email to executives, he acknowledged "a non-trivial chance that we will be forced to spin out Instagram and perhaps WhatsApp in the next 5-10 years anyway" and noted that "most companies actually perform better after they've been split up." This prediction now looks prophetic as Meta fights to maintain its corporate structure. Zuckerberg also made revealing admissions about Facebook's evolution, confirming that traditional "friending" activities have declined significantly while messaging features have surged in popularity. "The amount that people are sharing with friends on Facebook, especially, has been declining," he testified. "Even the amount of new friends that people add has been declining."
或許最令人驚訝的是，祖克柏曾考慮過自願拆分他的公司。在 2018 年給高管的一封電子郵件中，他承認「我們在未來 5-10 年內被迫分拆 Instagram 甚至可能 WhatsApp 的機會並非微不足道」，並指出「大多數公司在被拆分後實際表現更好」。這一預測在 Meta 為維持其企業結構而奮戰之際，顯得頗具先見之明。祖克柏還就 Facebook 的演變做出令人深思的供詞，證實傳統的「交友」活動已顯著減少，而通訊功能則大幅增長。他作證說：「特別是在 Facebook 上，人們與朋友分享的內容正在減少。甚至人們新增的朋友數量也在下降。」
The financial implications of this case are enormous. Meta relies on its massive user base—3.3 billion daily users across all platforms—to drive its advertising business, which generated more than $160 billion last year. Instagram alone is projected to account for over half of Meta's US advertising revenue in 2025. The company argues there is robust competition in social media, pointing to rivals like TikTok, YouTube, and X. However, the FTC maintains that Meta's dominance reflects a lack of genuine alternatives for consumers, not simply business success.
這個案件的財務影響非常巨大。Meta 依賴其龐大的用戶群體——所有平台上每日 33 億活躍用戶——來推動其廣告業務，該業務去年創造了超過 1,600 億美元的收入。僅 Instagram 一項，預計到 2025 年將佔 Meta 在美國廣告收入的一半以上。該公司辯稱社群媒體競爭激烈，指出 TikTok、YouTube 和 X 等競爭對手。然而，聯邦貿易委員會堅持認為，Meta 的主導地位反映了消費者缺乏真正的替代選擇，而非簡單的商業成功。
The trial continues with additional testimony from former Meta executive Sheryl Sandberg and is expected to last approximately two months. Legal experts suggest the FTC faces a challenging battle, as the social media market appears more competitive than other recently contested domains like online search.
隨著前 Meta 高管雪柔・桑德伯格（Sheryl Sandberg）的額外證詞，審判繼續進行，預計將持續約兩個月。法律專家表示，聯邦貿易委員會面臨艱難的戰鬥，因為社群媒體市場似乎比最近受到爭議的其他領域（如線上搜尋）更具競爭性。
Keyword Drills 關鍵字：
- Acutely (A-cute-ly) [adverb. in a very strong or severe way]: Court documents show that Zuckerberg was acutely aware of competitive threats years ago.
- Neutralizing (Neu-tral-iz-ing) [verb. stopping someone or something from being effective or dangerous]: Another memo discussed "neutralizing" Instagram, which the FTC lawyer dramatically called "a smoking gun."
- Admitted (Ad-mit-ted) [verb. said something that is true but not good for you]: Another executive admitted having "sleepless nights" over WhatsApp being "the real deal."
- Dominance (Dom-i-nance) [noun. having power and control over others or in a situation]: However, the FTC maintains that Meta's dominance reflects a lack of genuine alternatives for consumers, not simply business success.
- Testimony (Tes-ti-mo-ny) [noun. the statements made by a witness in court]: Zuckerberg also made revealing admissions about Facebook's evolution during his testimony.
Reference article:
1. https://us.cnn.com/2025/04/14/media/zuckerberg-meta-monopoly-trial/index.html
2. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4g2z80e2kjo
3. https://edition.cnn.com/2025/04/16/tech/mark-zuckerberg-testimony-meta-ftc-trial/index.html