During ongoing antitrust proceedings this week, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified that Snapchat would have achieved faster growth had it accepted his company’s acquisition offer in 2013. The statement emerged as part of a high-stakes legal battle centered on Meta’s history of corporate acquisitions.
The $6 Billion Missed Opportunity
Court documents presented during the trial revealed that Meta—then operating as Facebook—had extended a $6 billion bid to acquire Snapchat. This figure significantly exceeds previous reports that estimated the offer at $3 billion. Under questioning from an FTC attorney, Zuckerberg doubled down on his assessment of the failed deal, suggesting that his company possessed the resources to optimize the platform’s trajectory.
“For what it’s worth, I think if we would have bought them, we would have accelerated their growth, but that’s just speculation,” Zuckerberg testified. He further remarked that he believed Snapchat was failing to reach its full potential at the time the offer was extended.
Antitrust Allegations and Market Dominance
The government introduced the 2013 acquisition attempt as a cornerstone of its argument that Meta maintains its market dominance through the systematic neutralization of rivals. Prosecutors contend that Meta focuses on purchasing competitors rather than engaging in direct innovation or organic competition.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is currently pushing for structural changes at Meta. Their objective is to force the tech giant to divest from Instagram and WhatsApp. Regulators argue that Meta’s multi-billion dollar acquisitions of these platforms were strategic moves designed to eliminate emerging threats and solidify an illegal monopoly within the social media landscape.