Good morning, it’s Lucinda Southern here, Adweek media editor, welcoming you into the second half of the week.
Will Facebook be forced to drop Instagram and WhatsApp? For a lot of media and marketing onlookers, years of talking about divestment are becoming more material. And for once, people say the government has done a pretty decent job in understanding a tech company's business model.
In the Federal Trade Commission's 53-page complaint, slimmer than the state’s 123-page doc, it accuses Facebook of acquiring Instagram and WhatsApp to eliminate competition in this market. It also claims Facebook restricted access to its developer platform to harm competitors. Sheesh.
No doubt a years-long battle is ahead. My colleague Scott Nover’s piece looks at the government’s wrinkles in retroactively calling a merger anti-competitive. Even if divestment isn’t on the cards, we’re entering an era where the government takes a more muscular approach towards tech companies and their future market dominance. That's a step in the right direction.
If you missed it, check out my chat with Bloomberg Media CEO Justin Smith. Justin shares some more optimistic views of how media companies can seek out opportunities for growth in 2021. I also covered how—in a trend-bucking move—Bloomberg Media Europe has grown Q3 revenue by 68% year-on-year, by offering more consultative services to its ad clients.
On that note, please consider supporting our journalism with an Adweek Pro Subscription and gain full access to all of Adweek.
Thanks for reading!
Lucinda
