Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg testified on Monday in the Federal Trade Commission's antitrust case that could lead to the break-up of the social media giant.
If government regulators prevail in their argument that Meta, previously called Facebook, has been anti-competitive, the company could be forced to restructure or sell off two of its prized assets, Instagram and WhatsApp. Instagram alone provides about half of Meta's US advertising revenue, according to some estimates.
The FTC's case originated during President Donald Trump’s first term in office, as regulators investigated accusations that Meta had used its size to crush competition in social media.
The company's purchase of Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp two years later have become the main source of scrutiny for the FTC's case.
Wearing a dark suit, Mr Zuckerberg described past missteps as Meta tried to maintain dominance in the sector it helped to create, particularly with the rise of Instagram, and the company's failure to come up with a similar offering that could compete with it.
“We misunderstood how social engagement online was evolving,” he said when asked about Facebook’s changes in strategy with the content and algorithms that dictated what users saw on the platform. “There was a profound shift in how people engage with their friends and discovered content.”
The plan to call Mr Zuckerberg to the witness box was announced earlier on Monday during the FTC's opening argument, presented by the federal agency's lawyer Daniel Matheson.
“One hundred years of American public policy says that firms must compete if they want to succeed,” Mr Matheson said in his opening argument, which lasted for almost two hours. “Meta doesn't want to do that.”
Meta has tried to get the case thrown out but efforts so far have been unsuccessful. Reporters gathered as early as 6.30am inside the US District Court about a kilometre from the Capitol building to get a seat in courtroom 22A for the trial.
Joel Kaplan, Meta’s chief global affairs officer and former policy adviser for George W Bush, was among the Meta senior staff members in the courtroom. He typed on his phone during the FTC's opening arguments and was sitting next to the company's chief legal officer, Jennifer Newstead.
“This entire thing is grab bag of FTC theories at war with facts,” Meta's lawyer Mark Hansen said during the company's opening arguments. “They can keep saying their theories but the facts are different, and ultimately what you'll see is that the facts will prove them wrong.”
Mr Hansen claimed Meta bought Instagram and WhatsApp to improve them, and that “by any objective standard” it did so.
Yet emails displayed during the FTC’s opening statements suggest the company contemplated delaying improvements to Instagram and WhatsApp shortly after Meta bought them. The FTC alleged Meta thought it was worth buying the apps to eliminate potential competition and eventually integrate the features of Instagram and WhatsApp into the main Facebook platform.
One email from Meta’s vice president of engineering suggested Instagram “keep running as insurance”, while another email from Meta’s Instagram lead, Adam Mosseri, implied Mr Zuckerberg wanted “to stick it to IG”.
“It’s absurd that the FTC is trying to break up a great American company at the same time the [Trump] administration is trying to save Chinese-owned TikTok,” wrote Ms Newstead, Meta’s chief legal officer, on the eve of the trial. “It makes no sense for regulators to try to weaken US companies right at the moment we most need them to invest in winning the competition with China for leadership in AI.”
The FTC claims TikTok is not necessarily a competitor because it does not focus on friends and family.
In a post on Meta's platform Threads, spokesman Andy Stone described the FTC’s case as “weak”.
“The FTC cleared our acquisitions more than a decade ago,” he wrote. “They allege our only competitors are Snapchat and an app called MeWe … ignoring what every 17-year-old knows, we compete with TikTok, YouTube, X and others,” he added, underscoring the company’s message that Meta does not have the monopoly described by the FTC.
There had been some speculation that Mr Trump would try to force the FTC to settle the case with Meta, especially with the social media giant making several moves in recent months to appease the US administration.
Mr Zuckerberg appeared at Mr Trump's inauguration, several months after saying his company regretted working so closely with former president Joe Biden's administration on monitoring misinformation during the Covid-19 crisis.
The company essentially ended its independent content fact-checking team, which had become the source of anger for conservatives.
Meta also recently announced the addition of former Trump administration official Dina Powell McCormick to its board of directors.
So far, there is no indication that Mr Trump plans to intervene. FTC's lawyers did not comment on whether he had sought to get involved.
Further complicating matters is that the trial will be decided by Judge James Boasberg, who Mr Trump has accused of bias.
Throughout the trial, which is expected to last for several weeks, executives and engineers from Snapchat, Microsoft, Apple, Amazon and others are expected to be called as witnesses.
Meta's former chief executive Sheryl Sandberg and Mr Mosseri are also expected to be called. The trial continues.
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
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Price, base / as tested Dh395,000 / Dh420,000
Engine 3.5L V6
Transmission Six-speed manual
Power 410hp @ 7,000rpm
Torque 420Nm @ 3,500rpm
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Red Sparrow
Dir: Francis Lawrence
Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Joel Egerton, Charlotte Rampling, Jeremy Irons
Three stars
How being social media savvy can improve your well being
Next time when procastinating online remember that you can save thousands on paying for a personal trainer and a gym membership simply by watching YouTube videos and keeping up with the latest health tips and trends.
As social media apps are becoming more and more consumed by health experts and nutritionists who are using it to awareness and encourage patients to engage in physical activity.
Elizabeth Watson, a personal trainer from Stay Fit gym in Abu Dhabi suggests that “individuals can use social media as a means of keeping fit, there are a lot of great exercises you can do and train from experts at home just by watching videos on YouTube”.
Norlyn Torrena, a clinical nutritionist from Burjeel Hospital advises her clients to be more technologically active “most of my clients are so engaged with their phones that I advise them to download applications that offer health related services”.
Torrena said that “most people believe that dieting and keeping fit is boring”.
However, by using social media apps keeping fit means that people are “modern and are kept up to date with the latest heath tips and trends”.
“It can be a guide to a healthy lifestyle and exercise if used in the correct way, so I really encourage my clients to download health applications” said Mrs Torrena.
People can also connect with each other and exchange “tips and notes, it’s extremely healthy and fun”.
MATCH INFO
Syria v Australia
2018 World Cup qualifying: Asia fourth round play-off first leg
Venue: Hang Jebat Stadium (Malacca, Malayisa)
Kick-off: Thursday, 4.30pm (UAE)
Watch: beIN Sports HD
* Second leg in Australia scheduled for October 10
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
The Limehouse Golem
Director: Juan Carlos Medina
Cast: Olivia Cooke, Bill Nighy, Douglas Booth
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UAE squad
Esha Oza (captain), Al Maseera Jahangir, Emily Thomas, Heena Hotchandani, Indhuja Nandakumar, Katie Thompson, Lavanya Keny, Mehak Thakur, Michelle Botha, Rinitha Rajith, Samaira Dharnidharka, Siya Gokhale, Sashikala Silva, Suraksha Kotte, Theertha Satish (wicketkeeper) Udeni Kuruppuarachchige, Vaishnave Mahesh.
UAE tour of Zimbabwe
All matches in Bulawayo
Friday, Sept 26 – First ODI
Sunday, Sept 28 – Second ODI
Tuesday, Sept 30 – Third ODI
Thursday, Oct 2 – Fourth ODI
Sunday, Oct 5 – First T20I
Monday, Oct 6 – Second T20I
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
No Shame
Lily Allen
(Parlophone)
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Countries offering golden visas
UK
Innovator Founder Visa is aimed at those who can demonstrate relevant experience in business and sufficient investment funds to set up and scale up a new business in the UK. It offers permanent residence after three years.
Germany
Investing or establishing a business in Germany offers you a residence permit, which eventually leads to citizenship. The investment must meet an economic need and you have to have lived in Germany for five years to become a citizen.
Italy
The scheme is designed for foreign investors committed to making a significant contribution to the economy. Requires a minimum investment of €250,000 which can rise to €2 million.
Switzerland
Residence Programme offers residence to applicants and their families through economic contributions. The applicant must agree to pay an annual lump sum in tax.
Canada
Start-Up Visa Programme allows foreign entrepreneurs the opportunity to create a business in Canada and apply for permanent residence.
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When Umm Kulthum performed in Abu Dhabi
Known as The Lady of Arabic Song, Umm Kulthum performed in Abu Dhabi on November 28, 1971, as part of celebrations for the fifth anniversary of the accession of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan as Ruler of Abu Dhabi. A concert hall was constructed for the event on land that is now Al Nahyan Stadium, behind Al Wahda Mall. The audience were treated to many of Kulthum's most well-known songs as part of the sold-out show, including Aghadan Alqak and Enta Omri.
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How much of your income do you need to save?
The more you save, the sooner you can retire. Tuan Phan, a board member of SimplyFI.com, says if you save just 5 per cent of your salary, you can expect to work for another 66 years before you are able to retire without too large a drop in income.
In other words, you will not save enough to retire comfortably. If you save 15 per cent, you can forward to another 43 working years. Up that to 40 per cent of your income, and your remaining working life drops to just 22 years. (see table)
Obviously, this is only a rough guide. How much you save will depend on variables, not least your salary and how much you already have in your pension pot. But it shows what you need to do to achieve financial independence.
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