Instagram’s Systrom Says Zuckerberg Saw App’s Growth as ‘Threat’
Kevin Systrom speaks onstage during TechCrunch Disrupt in 2023.
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Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom testified that his fledgling photo-sharing app could have succeeded without being acquired by Meta Platforms Inc., and that eventually Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg treated Instagram’s growth as a “threat” and starved it of resources.
The claims could bolster the US government’s monopoly case against the social networking giant as lawyers for the Federal Trade Commission push to unwind the 2012 acquisition of the photo app, which today is used by almost 3 billion people worldwide and is projected to contribute roughly half of Meta’s US ad sales this year.