Zuckerberg’s Attempt to Win Trump’s Favor Collapses in FTC Lawsuit Drama

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President Trump and Mark Zuckerberg – Credit: Getty Images
President Trump and Mark Zuckerberg – Credit: Getty Images

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg found himself in hot water after his attempt to cozy up to President Donald Trump to reduce a massive $30 billion antitrust lawsuit to just $450 million backfired spectacularly.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Zuckerberg reached out personally to the head of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in March, offering a meek $450 million settlement. This amount is merely 1.5% of the $30 billion the government argues Meta owes due to its monopolistic actions, notably the controversial acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp.

Zuckerberg misguidedly believed President Trump had his back, banking on past donations and political gestures to win the president’s favor. Known for stifling conservative voices and skewing online narratives during the 2020 election, Zuckerberg had contributed $1 million to Trump’s inauguration, met with Trump’s team multiple times, and even scaled back Meta’s content moderation in an attempt to position himself as a Trump-friendly ally.

Despite two visits to Mar-a-Lago, presence at Trump’s inauguration, settling Trump’s lawsuit for $25 million, and spending millions on election-related PR, Zuckerberg couldn’t escape accountability.

The Meta CEO’s last-ditch effort was a phone call to FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson, proposing a meager $450 million to settle. Ferguson dismissed the offer, demanding at least $18 billion and a binding consent decree, and the trial moved forward.

While President Trump initially seemed open to a deal, his conservative advisors and DOJ officials, during an April 8 Oval Office meeting, advised against trusting Zuckerberg’s advances.

In the meeting, which included DOJ antitrust head Gail Slater and adviser Mike Davis, Trump was encouraged to let the trial proceed, to which he agreed, as reported by the WSJ.

Further details from the news outlet:

FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson called the offer not credible, demanding at least $18 billion and a consent decree. As the trial approached, Meta raised its offer to nearly $1 billion, with Zuckerberg launching a frantic lobbying effort to dodge the FTC trial.

Former FTC Chair Lina Khan, nominated by former President Joe Biden, described the $450 million settlement offer as “delusional.”

“Mark bought his way out of competing, so I’m not surprised that he thinks he can buy his way out of law enforcement, too,” said Khan. “His proposed remedy, like his market strategy, is: ‘let my illegal monopoly keep monopolizing.’”

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