In a highly publicized legal battle, Meta is working to counteract antitrust allegations to prevent the FTC from dismantling the company. As part of its defense strategy, Meta has pointed to Apple’s Messages app as evidence supporting its claim of not being a monopoly.
Full access to Meta’s initial presentation slides can be found here, as reported by The Verge.
Wes Davis has noted that even some slides containing redacted information are relatively straightforward to interpret.
One specific slide illustrates the weekly usage rates of Apple’s Messages app compared to Meta’s rival applications on iOS.
The figures are as follows:
- Apple Messages: 88.39% device usage
- Instagram: 48.19%
- Facebook Messenger: 37.55%
- WhatsApp: 36.76%
This information serves to challenge the FTC’s apparent suggestion that “Messaging” serves a distinct purpose compared to “Personal Social Networking.”
Additionally, a quote from Apple’s Director of Product Marketing, Ronak Shah, supports this claim:
A “core use case” of iMessage is “to allow users to communicate with the people that are in their life that they know.”
This implies that Meta cannot be seen as a monopoly, especially given the popularity of Apple’s default Messages app—at least on iOS devices.
Moreover, Apple is not the sole competitor Meta references in its defense; the company also mentions competition from platforms such as TikTok, YouTube, Snapchat, and others.
What are your thoughts on Meta utilizing Apple’s Messages app as part of its defense? Share your opinions in the comments.
