Also posted at <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/techemails.bsky.social/post/3lhox2pjrqk2x" rel="nofollow">https://bsky.app/profile/techemails.bsky.social/post/3lhox2p...</a>
Seems like Zuckerberg had already made up his mind and needed an engineer to positively confirm his desired path through a very power imbalanced chat...<p>No shade towards the engineer at all, but besides the very first "My instinct is” comment the engineer literally could have just been ChatGPT and Zuck would have gotten a similar convo.
From the perspective of the “engineer”’s responses, I’m guessing by this is a VERY senior engineer, maybe a technical fellow or whatever Facebook calls them.
[Discussing Instagram prior to Facebook acquisition.]<p>"Mark: Hmm. Engagement metrics?<p>Engineer: 23 mins daily per user. Teens. 94% return weekly. But here's the kicker: Their EXIF scraper tags locations silently. Imagine layering that with FB's graph. Hyper-local ads without asking.<p>Mark: Go on.<p>Engineer: They're a Trojan horse."
From Zuckerberg's messages, it appears that an important motivation for buying Instagram was to limit the competition facing Facebook.<p>Thanks Obama for enforcing the Sherman Antitrust Act:<p>> SECTION 1. Every contract, combination in the form of trust or otherwise, or conspiracy, in restraint of trade or commerce among the several States, or with foreign nations, is hereby declared to be illegal. Every person who shall make any contract or engage in any combination or conspiracy hereby declared to be illegal shall be deemed guilty of a felony, and, on con-viction thereof, shall be punished by fine not exceeding $100,000,000 if a corporation, or, if any other person, $1,000,000, or by imprisonment not exceeding 10 years, or by both said punishments, in the discretion of the court.