FTC's marching Meta to a date with destiny - and break-up

#300. Zuck's courthouse reckoning is days away as Meta faces the legal furnace that's roasting Google. It's about to be all change in social...

This is a landmark newsletter. As well as being my 300th edition, it also represents a pivot in focus. Google’s toppling towards break-up, so my work’s done there, for now.

It’s time to shift to Meta and begin the systematic and strategic process of breaking down its monopoly, and harms, and getting it to the chophouse next.

On Tuesday, Mark Zuckerberg’s social empire will come under the greatest attack in its 20-year history, which is long, long, long, overdue.

The US Federal Trade Commission will outline a damning case alleging Meta spent $20 billion buying Instagram and WhatsApp to kill off competition.

Meta’s taking it very seriously.

There’s (probably) a groove in The White House lawn given how many times Zuck’s been there to beg for it to be shut down, but no dice. It’s going ahead.

And miles and miles into Meta’s latest financial reports, after all the glowing self-serving stories of growth, AI vision, and revenue momentum, there’s this…

Chief Financial Officer Susan Li writes: “We continue to monitor the active regulatory landscape, including the increasing legal and regulatory headwinds in the EU and the US that could significantly impact our business and our financial results.

“Of note, the FTC is seeking to substantially modify our existing consent order and impose additional restrictions on our ability to operate.

“We are contesting this matter, but if we are unsuccessful, it would have an adverse impact on our business.”

• There’s no mention of a wave of addicted girls, dead kids, and teen dysmorphia.

• Or the end of fact checking, and the destabilisation of truth and democracy.

• Or how Meta fanned the flames of division sparking horrific violence in Africa.

Or the… Well, the list goes on and on, and we’ll have plenty of time to get to that.

Let’s focus on the kick off, which sees the FTC strike at Meta’s monopoly.

The strategy is to break its $1.3 trillion monolith into bite-size chunks so that it can then be systematically taken down.

Act one begins next week. I’ll be covering it every day, so this is your front row seat. Let’s f*cking go.

Here’s what you need to know…