New court filing shows that Meta execs agreed that Facebook was losing to TikTok

Tech Crunch - May 7th, 2025

Meta executives, including CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Instagram head Adam Mosseri, have expressed concerns over TikTok surpassing Meta in user engagement and market share, according to a recent U.S. Federal Trade Commission antitrust lawsuit filing. The document from February 2022 reveals internal discussions where Zuckerberg and Mosseri admit that Facebook has become a 'challenger' in the social media landscape, losing ground to TikTok's video-centric approach and shared content experiences. Mosseri acknowledged TikTok's potential to surpass YouTube and highlighted TikTok's impact on the social mobile market, suggesting it even eats into TV and long-form video consumption.

The filing could undermine the FTC's case against Meta, which alleges the company violated competition laws by acquiring Instagram and WhatsApp to form a monopoly. The internal conversations portray Meta as struggling against a fragmented market with formidable competitors like TikTok, YouTube, and others. This document, along with other trial evidence, emphasizes Meta's fears of TikTok's rapid growth, as Zuckerberg testified to its threat to Meta's business. The revelations shed light on Meta's strategic challenges and underscore the dynamic and competitive nature of the social media industry.

Meta Tik Tok Instagram Reels Mark Zuckerberg Facebook Adam Mosseri You Tube Ftc Antitrust Lawsuit Social Media Competition

Story submitted by Fairstory

RATING

7.4

Fair Story

Consider it well-founded

The article provides a detailed and timely examination of Meta's internal recognition of TikTok as a formidable competitor, framed within the context of the FTC's antitrust lawsuit. It accurately captures the essence of Meta executives' discussions and offers insights into the competitive landscape of social media.

While the story is well-structured and clear, it could benefit from more diverse perspectives, particularly from TikTok or independent analysts, to enhance balance. The article's reliance on a court filing as its primary source lends credibility, but the absence of direct citations for referenced studies slightly undermines transparency and source quality.

Overall, the article is informative and engaging, with the potential to influence public discourse on competition and regulation in the tech industry. It effectively highlights the challenges Meta faces in maintaining its market position, though further exploration of broader industry implications and controversies would enhance its impact and engagement potential.

Accuracy

The news story accurately reflects the key points from the court filing related to the FTC's antitrust lawsuit against Meta. The article correctly reports that Meta executives, including Mark Zuckerberg and Adam Mosseri, acknowledged TikTok's competitive threat to Facebook and Instagram. The story cites Zuckerberg's comments about Facebook losing 'mindshare and momentum' and the discussion of TikTok's 'shared context' feature, which aligns with the court document details.

The story also accurately portrays Mosseri's insights on TikTok's growing dominance and its impact on the social media landscape. However, while the article references studies about TikTok's watch time surpassing YouTube, it does not provide direct citations or specific study details, which would enhance verifiability.

Overall, the story maintains factual accuracy in its portrayal of Meta's internal discussions and the broader competitive context, but it could benefit from more precise sourcing for some of the data points mentioned.

Balance

The article presents a balanced view of the competitive dynamics between Meta and TikTok, focusing on internal Meta perspectives. It provides insights from various Meta executives, including Zuckerberg, Mosseri, and others, which helps to present a comprehensive picture of the internal challenges and strategic considerations.

However, the story primarily focuses on Meta's viewpoint and lacks perspectives from TikTok or industry analysts that could provide additional context or counterpoints. Including such viewpoints could have enriched the narrative and offered a more rounded understanding of the competitive landscape.

Clarity

The article is well-structured and uses clear language to convey the complex dynamics between Meta and TikTok. It logically presents the internal discussions among Meta executives and their implications in the context of the FTC lawsuit.

The use of direct quotes helps to maintain clarity and provides readers with a direct insight into the executives' thoughts. However, the article could improve clarity by including more details about the referenced studies and providing a clearer distinction between factual reporting and analysis.

Source quality

The primary source of the article is a court filing from the FTC's antitrust lawsuit against Meta, which is a credible and authoritative source. The use of direct quotes from Meta executives adds reliability to the reporting.

However, the article does not specify the studies it references about TikTok's watch time, which affects the overall reliability of those claims. Citing these studies directly or providing more details about them would enhance the source quality further.

Transparency

The article effectively discloses its primary source as a court filing, which provides transparency about the basis of its claims. However, it lacks transparency regarding the studies mentioned about TikTok's user engagement and watch time.

Providing more information about these studies, such as their sources or methodologies, would improve transparency and help readers assess the validity of these claims. Additionally, while the article discusses Meta's internal challenges, it does not explore potential conflicts of interest or biases in the perspectives shared.