Meta leans on iMessage being more popular than Facebook Messenger for antitrust defense
Social media giant Meta claims that it can't be considered a monopoly because iMessage outperforms Facebook Messenger on iOS.
Meta claims it's not a monopoly because iMessage outperforms Facebook Messenger. Image Credit: Meta
Meta, Facebook's parent company, has been dealing with an antitrust lawsuit for over four years. In December 2020, the FTC alleged that the social media giant engaged in anti-competitive practices and wanted to break up the company.
The lawsuit itself was initially dismissed by a Federal Court Judge in June 2021, but the FTC filed a more robust and detailed complaint in 2022. The case is still ongoing, and now Meta has provided additional details and arguments.
On Monday, the social media company provided its opening statement, for which it used a series of slides. The slides were afterwards made public, albeit with redactions. As was noted by The Verge, however, Meta's redactions were poorly executed, making them easy to remove.
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Meta's slides reveal data about Facebook Messenger and how it performs in relation to Apple's Messages app. Image Credit: Meta Platforms, Inc.
One of the slides reveals the weekly usage of Facebook Messenger and Instagram, and how it compares to Apple's built-in Messages app. The information suggests that neither of the two apps comes close to the default iOS messaging app.
With the redactions removed, Meta's slide contains the following numbers:
- Apple Messages: 88.39%
- Instagram: 48.19%
- Facebook Messenger: 37.55%
- WhatsApp: 36.76%
- Snapchat: 23.04%
Right next to the numbers is an image of what appears to be an internal Apple document. The page featured in Meta's slides bears a resemblance to authentic Apple documents, AppleInsider was told.
The only bit of the slide that was not redacted was a quote by Apple's Director of Product Marketing, Ronak Shah. It reads:
A "core use case" of iMessage is "to allow users to communicate with the people that are in their life that they know."
Meta believes it can't be considered a monopoly because Apple's default Messages application outperforms Facebook Messenger and Instagram. The company also cited the likes of TikTok and YouTube, and claimed that rival products and services were "thriving."
The outcome of the case ultimately remains to be seen. Given that the antitrust lawsuit has been an ongoing matter since 2020, however, it could be years before a decision is finally made.
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AppleInsider said: Pointing out more obvious facts - 3 of the 5 platforms in Meta's slide (Instagram, Facebook Messanger and WhatsApp) are all owned by Meta.