Zuckerberg’s $450 Million Settlement Offer Rejected as Meta Faces Landmark Antitrust Trial
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently made a last-minute effort to avoid a major antitrust trial by offering to settle the case for USD 450 million—a move that was swiftly rejected by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which demanded a far higher settlement and stronger regulatory commitments. According to a report by The Wall Street Journal, the FTC viewed the offer as inadequate and lacking credibility, especially given the high stakes involved in the ongoing case.
Zuckerberg personally called FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson in late March to present the $450 million offer, hoping to resolve the case before it proceeded to trial on April 14. However, the FTC reportedly demanded $30 billion in penalties along with a binding consent decree to address concerns of anti-competitive behavior. Ferguson is said to have dismissed the offer as unserious.
Antitrust Battle over Instagram and WhatsApp Acquisitions
At the center of the case are Meta’s blockbuster acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp—deals that transformed the social media landscape. Meta purchased Instagram for $1 billion in 2012 and WhatsApp for $19 billion in 2014. The FTC alleges that these acquisitions were not simply business expansions but strategic moves to “neutralize” competition and maintain Meta’s dominance in the social networking space.
The trial could have profound consequences, including the potential unwinding of the acquisitions—something that would reshape the structure of one of the world’s most powerful tech companies.
Former FTC Chair Lina Khan did not mince words in her assessment of Zuckerberg’s offer. “The company’s $450 million settlement offer was delusional,” she was quoted as saying by The Wall Street Journal. “Mark bought his way out of competing, so I’m not surprised that he thinks he can buy his way out of law enforcement, too.”
Zuckerberg’s Testimony and Internal Emails
During the trial, Zuckerberg was questioned about the Instagram acquisition and whether he would have preferred Facebook’s in-house photo app to succeed independently. “I guess so, yeah. A billion dollars is very expensive,” he responded, underlining the strategic rationale behind acquiring a rising competitor rather than building a rival product.
The trial has also highlighted internal Meta documents, including a 2008 email in which Zuckerberg said, “It is better to buy than compete”—a statement now central to the FTC’s case.
In a separate revelation, a 2018 internal memo showed that Zuckerberg had once contemplated spinning off Instagram in anticipation of growing antitrust scrutiny. “I wonder if we should consider the extreme step of spinning Instagram out as a separate company,” he wrote, acknowledging that a future administration might attempt to force a breakup of Big Tech firms.
Meta’s Defense: A Competitive Marketplace
Meta has denied any wrongdoing and argues that it operates in a highly competitive environment. The company points to rivals like TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn, and X (formerly Twitter) as evidence that the social media market is vibrant and diverse.
“We haven’t been shy about explaining why it doesn’t make sense for the FTC to bring a case to trial that requires it to prove something every 17-year-old in America knows is absurd—that Instagram doesn’t compete with TikTok,” said Meta spokesperson Dani Lever.
The company also maintains that its acquisitions benefited consumers by improving app quality, security, and global reach, while helping small businesses advertise more effectively.
Behind-the-Scenes Lobbying
In the weeks leading up to the trial, Zuckerberg reportedly ramped up efforts to win political support, especially from former President Donald Trump and his senior aides. Meta executives, including Zuckerberg, visited the White House multiple times this year, meeting with top officials such as Chief of Staff Susie Wiles.
A Meta spokesperson stated, “We regularly meet with policymakers to discuss issues impacting competitiveness, national security, and economic growth.”
While Trump was initially open to hearing Meta’s case, he ultimately declined to intervene. On April 8, after a meeting with FTC Chair Ferguson and other officials, Trump was reportedly persuaded to let the trial proceed, believing the matter was too significant to settle quietly.
Zuckerberg has recently been making public and private overtures to rebuild ties with Trump, including a $1 million donation to his inaugural fund and a $25 million legal settlement in a separate case. Meta also implemented changes to its content moderation policies that aligned more closely with conservative concerns, but skepticism persists among Trump’s political allies.
Tech Giants Under Pressure
The FTC’s lawsuit against Meta is part of a wider crackdown on Big Tech’s alleged monopolistic practices. Under Lina Khan’s leadership, the agency has launched aggressive investigations and lawsuits against other major players, including Amazon, Apple, and Google.
The Meta case was first filed in December 2020, during Trump’s first term, and was initially dismissed by a federal judge. However, the FTC refiled a more robust version of the complaint in 2021, and the trial that began in April 2025 is one of the most closely watched antitrust proceedings in recent years.
FTC Chair Ferguson, speaking to Fox Business on the trial’s opening day, framed the case as about more than just business. “Meta’s acquisitions gave it a tremendous amount of power—power we all saw on full display in 2020. This case is about ensuring that level of influence can never go unchecked again.”
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