Meta, the company owned by Mark Zuckerberg, is currently embroiled in an antitrust legal battle with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and its approach has not gained it many allies. According to reports from The Verge, several major tech companies, including Apple, Google, and Snap, have expressed frustration over poorly redacted legal documents submitted by Meta. These documents inadvertently revealed sensitive internal information belonging to these companies.
The information disclosed was not particularly revolutionary. As reported by The Verge, one slide appeared to show data from Apple, indicating the frequency of use for various apps with messaging features, such as Apple’s Messages, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, and Snapchat. The data suggested that Apple’s Messages dominated iOS communications over Meta’s offerings. Another slide, titled “Snapchat in 2020: Competitors Are Succeeding and Not Just Meta Apps,” indicated that apps other than those owned by Meta were thriving.
The disclosure of this information resulted from the way Meta redacted the documents, making it relatively easy to access the underlying content. This has raised concerns among legal representatives from Apple, Google, and Snapchat about Meta’s ability to protect proprietary information. Lawyers for Apple and Snap described the redaction error as "egregious," and stated that Apple might be hesitant to share internal information with Meta in the future. Google’s legal team also criticized Meta for exposing its business details.
This incident is not an isolated event; it follows another misstep by Meta earlier in the trial when confidential information from Snap was allegedly revealed during opening statements. This situation may have arisen because Meta reportedly did not anticipate the trial proceeding as it did. The Wall Street Journal reported that CEO Mark Zuckerberg believed that his favorable relationship with former President Trump might lead to the case being settled quickly. Despite these expectations, the trial is currently underway, causing friction with companies that could have been allies.
