Mark Zuckerberg mulled Instagram spin-off in 2018 amid antitrust concerns

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg once considered separating Instagram from its parent company due to worries about antitrust litigation, according to an email shown Tuesday on the second day of an antitrust trial alleging Meta illegally monopolised the social media market.

In the 2018 email, Zuckerberg wrote that he was beginning to wonder if spinning Instagram out would be the only way to accomplish important goals, as big-tech companies grow. He also noted there is a non-trivial chance Meta could be forced to spin out Instagram and perhaps WhatsApp in five to 10 years anyway.