The Smoking Gun Email That Could Break Up Meta

Mark Zuckerberg saw the writing on the wall – and it was written in Instagram filters. Leaked emails from the Meta antitrust trial reveal the CEO’s panic as Instagram began devouring Facebook from the inside.

“We may be causing network collapse of the more engaging and more profitable product to replace it with one that is less engaging and less profitable.”

Mark Zuckerberg, 2018 Internal Email

The Cannibalization Crisis

Zuckerberg’s 2018 panic attack wasn’t just corporate paranoia. The data showed a brutal truth:

• Engagement nosedived when users joined Instagram
• The hollowing out effect compounded as Instagram grew
• Facebook’s cultural relevance was bleeding out

Zuckerberg’s Desperate Playbook

The Meta CEO proposed radical solutions to stop the bleeding:

• Branding blitzkrieg – “Instagram by Facebook” everywhere
• Forced integrations to make apps function as one
• Growth throttling Instagram’s expansion
• The nuclear option: spinning out Instagram completely

The Irony That Could Sink Meta

Zuckerberg’s 2018 warning now reads like prophecy:

“There’s a non-trivial chance we may be forced to spin out Instagram and WhatsApp in the next 5 to 10 years.”

Zuckerberg’s Email to Executives

Seven years later, the FTC is holding a gun to Meta’s head – with Zuckerberg’s own words as ammunition.

The Stakes Couldn’t Be Higher

If the FTC wins:

• Instagram and WhatsApp could be torn away from Meta
• Zuckerberg’s “family of apps” vision shattered
• A precedent set that could rewrite tech M&A rules

Meta’s response? Classic corporate deflection: “Out-of-context documents… won’t overcome the FTC’s weak case.” But these emails show Zuckerberg knew the truth all along – Instagram wasn’t just competing with TikTok. It was killing Facebook.