TikTok 's head of operations denied that the popular video app competes directly with Meta's platforms during testimony Wednesday in the Federal Trade Commission's antitrust trial against Meta Platforms. However, Meta's legal team immediately presented internal TikTok documents suggesting a different story, highlighting what has become a central dispute in the high-stakes monopoly case. "We are an app and we have social features, but I don't think of us as a social app," testified Adam Presser, TikTok's head of operations, attempting to distance his company from Instagram and Facebook.
Meta's lawyers countered by revealing TikTok's own internal analyses that identified Instagram as a direct competitor. "YouTube and Instagram are TikTok's most important competitors," stated one 2021 management document. In another instance, TikTok told an Australian government agency in March that "The short-video interfaces on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube are now virtually indistinguishable."
Judge questions platform differences as FTC builds monopoly case
U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, who is deciding the case without a jury, has questioned whether the different social-media platforms are fundamentally distinct. "Why isn't the way these are used now just a difference in degree?" Boasberg asked one FTC witness.
The FTC maintains that Facebook puts personal connections at the center of its experience, while TikTok's algorithm-driven approach focuses on entertainment regardless of personal relationships. Internal Meta surveys introduced by the FTC show that people primarily value Facebook and Instagram for keeping up with friends and family.
Meta's defense: Social media has evolved into entertainment
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified last month that his platforms have evolved, moving from social networking to "more of a broad discovery-entertainment space" similar to TikTok.
Even Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom, who largely supported the FTC's case, acknowledged this transformation. "The current horizon of the products is all about entertaining users with video content," Systrom told the court. "Facebook certainly and TikTok certainly and Instagram certainly. And I'll give you one more, which would be YouTube."
The outcome could hinge on whether Judge Boasberg accepts Meta's argument that TikTok represents significant competition in a broadly defined social media marketplace, or the FTC's position that Meta illegally monopolized personal social networking through its acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp.
The FTC is expected to continue presenting evidence for at least another week in its bid to break up Meta's social media empire.
Meta's lawyers countered by revealing TikTok's own internal analyses that identified Instagram as a direct competitor. "YouTube and Instagram are TikTok's most important competitors," stated one 2021 management document. In another instance, TikTok told an Australian government agency in March that "The short-video interfaces on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube are now virtually indistinguishable."
Judge questions platform differences as FTC builds monopoly case
U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, who is deciding the case without a jury, has questioned whether the different social-media platforms are fundamentally distinct. "Why isn't the way these are used now just a difference in degree?" Boasberg asked one FTC witness.
The FTC maintains that Facebook puts personal connections at the center of its experience, while TikTok's algorithm-driven approach focuses on entertainment regardless of personal relationships. Internal Meta surveys introduced by the FTC show that people primarily value Facebook and Instagram for keeping up with friends and family.
Meta's defense: Social media has evolved into entertainment
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified last month that his platforms have evolved, moving from social networking to "more of a broad discovery-entertainment space" similar to TikTok.
Even Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom, who largely supported the FTC's case, acknowledged this transformation. "The current horizon of the products is all about entertaining users with video content," Systrom told the court. "Facebook certainly and TikTok certainly and Instagram certainly. And I'll give you one more, which would be YouTube."
The outcome could hinge on whether Judge Boasberg accepts Meta's argument that TikTok represents significant competition in a broadly defined social media marketplace, or the FTC's position that Meta illegally monopolized personal social networking through its acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp.
The FTC is expected to continue presenting evidence for at least another week in its bid to break up Meta's social media empire.
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