INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
If Meta can convince the court that the FTC's market definition is wrong and that TikTok is Meta's biggest rival, then Meta's market share
drops below monopolist standards, "undercutting" the FTC's case, Big Tech on Trial reported.Although Meta paints the picture that TikTok
users naturally gravitated to Instagram during the TikTok outage, it's clear that Meta advertised heavily to move them in that direction
There was even a conspiracy theory that Meta had bought TikTok in the hours before TikTok went down, Wired reported, as users noticed Meta
banners encouraging them to link their TikTok accounts to Meta platforms
However, even the reported Meta ad blitz seemingly didn't sway that many TikTok users, as Sensor Tower data at the time apparently indicated
that "Instagram and Facebook appeared to receive only a modest increase in daily active users and downloads" during the TikTok outage, Wired
reported.Perhaps a more interesting question that the court may entertain is not where TikTok users go when TikTok is down, but where
Instagram or Facebook users turn if they no longer want to use those platforms
If the FTC can argue that people seeking a destination to connect with friends or family wouldn't substitute TikTok for that purpose, their
market definition might fly.Kenneth Dintzer, a partner at Crowell & Moring and the former lead attorney in the DOJ's winning Google search
monopoly case, told Ars that the chief judge in the case, James Boasberg, made clear at summary judgment that acknowledging Meta's rivalry
with TikTok "doesn't really answer the question about friends and family."So even though Zuckerberg was "pretty persuasive," his testimony
on TikTok may not move the judge much
However, there was one exchange at the trial where Boasberg asked, "How much does it matter if friends are on a particular platform, if
fluidly share across platforms, using each one for its value as a 'discovery engine,'" Big Tech on Trial reported.
