In an extremely high-profile legal case, Meta is currently trying to fend off antitrust claims so the FTC doesn’t break it up. And today as part of its prepared defense, the company sought to use Apple’s Messages app as evidence that it’s not a monopoly.
Meta’s opening statement slides are available here for viewing in full, per The Verge.
And as highlighted by Wes Davis, even some of the slides with redacted info are easy to uncover.
One slide, for example, compares weekly device usage of Apple’s Messages app to Meta’s competing offerings on iOS.
Here are the numbers:
- Apple Messages: 88.39% device use
- Instagram: 48.19%
- Facebook Messenger: 37.55%
- WhatsApp: 36.76%
This data is presented in the context of Meta seeking to refute the FTC’s apparent perspective that standard “Messaging” is different from “Personal Social Networking.”
There’s also an accompanying quote from Apple Director of Product Marketing, Ronak Shah, saying:
A “core use case” of iMessage is “to allow users to communicate with the people that are in their life that they know.”
In other words, Meta can’t have a monopoly when Apple’s built-in Messages app is more popular—at least on iOS.
Of course, Apple isn’t the only company Meta highlights in its defense. The tech giant also points to competition from TikTok, YouTube, Snapchat, and more.
What do you think of Meta using Apple’s Messages app in its defense? Let us know in the comments.
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