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

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Instagram caput Adam Mosseri, and different Meta execs thought that TikTok was beating Meta astatine its ain game. That’s according to a caller filing successful the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s antitrust lawsuit against the tech giant, published connected Monday.

The document, dated February 2022, includes conversations among a fig of Meta execs discussing Facebook and Instagram’s strategy and marketplace position. In 1 message, Zuckerberg called Facebook a “challenger” that has “lost the mindshare and momentum,” portion adding that TikTok creates a “feeling of shared context” wherever friends spot the aforesaid memes, helium said.

Mosseri besides agreed that Facebook should beryllium thought of arsenic a challenger now, noting it’s nary longer the default find engine. He projected that the preferred find motor contiguous could beryllium YouTube, but helium expected TikTok to surpass the Google-owned video level successful time, fixed the information Meta had connected hand.

“The astir earthy differentiated … strategy for Facebook is to beryllium the default find surface. But it’s absorbing that [TikTok] is 100% video and beating america badly,” Mosseri wrote. “My conjecture is they’re increasing the societal mobile marketplace and eating into TV, long-form video, Netflix arsenic well.”

Mosseri was right. TikTok overtook YouTube for average ticker clip successful the U.S. successful 2021, 1 survey found. Another survey by the parental power bundle shaper Qustodio discovered that kids ages 4 done 18 had spent 60% much clip connected TikTok than YouTube successful 2023. Last year, TikTok began allowing 60-minute uploads to situation YouTube.

And conscionable this week, Netflix introduced its ain TikTok-like experience successful its mobile app, offering a caller vertical video provender of recommended videos, personalized to the idiosyncratic user.

In the trial, however, the U.S. authorities is attempting to beryllium that Meta violated contention laws by acquiring companies similar Instagram and WhatsApp to make a societal networking monopoly. A papers similar this could harm the case, fixed that, internally, Meta execs were discussing however severely Facebook was being beaten by TikTok.

For instance, Zuckerberg noted that adjacent if Facebook remained the biggest app successful presumption of the fig of radical who prosecute with it connected a regular oregon play basis, it was nary longer the biggest app by clip spent.

He besides pointed retired that TikTok has a mode to supply radical with a consciousness of shared context. That is, if you and your friends are funny successful the aforesaid things, you’ll apt travel crossed the aforesaid things successful TikTok’s feed, helium said.

“That makes it inherently societal due to the fact that alternatively of having to nonstop immoderate contented to a friend, you tin conscionable presume they’ve seen it,” the CEO explained. “If we could get to a level similar this with topics and unconnected contented connected FB, that would beryllium great. “

Other execs besides chimed in.

Head of WhatsApp Will Cathcart pointed retired that TikTok users could remark connected a video successful a peculiar niche, which would pb the algorithm to bring them and different commenters to the aforesaid videos implicit time.

Stan Chudnovsky, past a VP and GM astatine Meta, added that Meta had present begun to vie successful a abstraction that had go precise fragmented with a “bunch of companies eating into our growth.”

“Just adding a caller format (like we did with Stories) is not capable anymore. There are conscionable truthful galore different places for radical to be,” helium added, citing different societal apps fashionable successful the U.S., similar TikTok, Twitter, iMessage, Snap, YouTube, Reddit, and Discord.

John Hegeman, past the VP of ads (now main gross officer), agreed that TikTok was “clearly successful the lead” successful areas similar short-form video content, ranking capabilities, and instauration tools, but said helium thought Meta could adjacent the spread by getting creators to besides station connected Reels.

However, helium said helium was little definite astir however acold down Meta was connected the instrumentality learning and method broadside of things, and successful presumption of instauration tools. The papers paints a representation that successful Meta’s view, Facebook is the underdog successful the societal media market.

It’s besides not the lone papers that has surfaced during the proceedings to show Meta’s fearfulness of competition. Zuckerberg himself testified past month that TikTok’s occurrence was some a hazard to Meta’s concern and had slowed its growth.