Meta launched the Friends tab to enable users to focus solely on friends' posts, marking a nostalgic return to personal social networking. In ongoing antitrust proceedings, Meta asserts that it does not hold a monopoly because personal social networking no longer exists in a meaningful way, with users preferring unconnected content. The FTC filed a lawsuit against Meta, arguing that its acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp were attempts to eliminate competition. Despite these legal challenges, TikTok's rapid growth exemplifies a shift in social media dynamics that Meta's past influence could not prevent.
The Friends tab is a way for the app's users to see only the latest posts from friends, and none of the algorithm-recommended content otherwise dominating their feeds.
Meta's argument is that it can't possibly have a monopoly on personal social networking-because personal social networking no longer meaningfully exists.
The protracted legal battle began in December 2020, when the FTC filed its lawsuit against Meta in conjunction with 46 states.
Right as TikTok was enjoying the kind of explosive growth that Meta's monopoly is meant to have made impossible, and right as that growth's seismic impact on the entire social media landscape settled in.
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