Facebook Camera failure: Trial zooms in on Meta's challenge to Instagram

Former Facebook product manager Dirk Stoop gives evidence in trial

A screenshot of Facebook Camera, Meta's failed attempt to create an app to compete with Instagram. Photo: Meta

Mark Zuckerberg once criticised Facebook Camera, the company’s app designed to compete with Instagram, as being so underwhelming that it might actually drive more users to Instagram, a former product manager has said in court.

The Federal Trade Commission has taken Mr Zuckerberg's social media company Meta to court over accusations of anti-competitive behaviour. The government used emails from more than a decade ago during the trial on Wednesday to demonstrate Meta's intensifying efforts to take on Instagram, which was growing in popularity at the time.

“We need more than eight filters … and we need to make sure the filters are of high quality,” Mr Zuckerberg’s email to Dirk Stoop read, referring to the photo filters that made Instagram so popular.

Boxes labelled 'Federal Trade Commission v Meta Platforms, Inc' are brought out of federal court in Washington. Bloomberg

There was also a high level of criticism of bugs and underwhelming features compared to those of Instagram, Mr Stoop revealed.

The Meta Camera app was announced in April 2012 and but struggled to gain popularity after being made available on Apple's iPhone platform. It was never released for Android.

Another internal document presented by the FTC showed correspondence from Mr Stoop in which he said "sharing photos from our mobile apps wasn't fun or fast" compared to Instagram.

Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive of Meta, was first in the witness stand in the company's much-anticipated trial in Washington last week. Bloomberg

According to an internal email shown in court, Meta sought to avoid publicly comparing the Camera app to Instagram's and also insisted on avoiding phrases such as "Facebook squashes the competition".

Ultimately, Camera continued to plod along but efforts to improve it were dwarfed by Meta's purchase of Instagram in 2012 for about $1 billion. In May 2014, Meta withdrew Camera from the iPhone App store.

During cross-examination, Meta’s lawyers sought to prove the Camera app offered several innovations and was not merely an imitation of Instagram.

Mr Stoop was asked about the multiphoto picker tool, which he said was unique at the time of the app’s introduction.

He also said he saw the audiences for Instagram and Cameras as being completely different.

“I saw Instagram as a place for creative photography,” he said. “That’s not necessarily how people were using Facebook or Camera.”

Mr Stoop was the latest to be called to the stand in Washington District Court by the FTC. On Tuesday, Kevin Systrom, co-founder of Instagram, took the stand and described to the FTC the various ways that Meta had sought to put the kibosh on Instagram’s success shortly after acquiring the company.

Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom said Meta had sought to limit resources given to the Camera app shortly after it bought Instagram for $1 billion. AFP

Meta’s lawyers, in turn, brought up Mr Systrom's public comments made shortly after Meta's purchase of Instagram, in which he praised the resources the social media giant provided to his company.

Mr Zuckerberg, founder and chief executive of Meta, was called to the witness stand during the trial's opening days, followed by former chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg.

One of the concerns surrounding Meta as a result of the trial is that the resources and energy spent to prepare for litigation might be syphoning valuable resources the company needs to innovate.

Yet Meta’s recent output, particularly the release of its much anticipated Edits video app, has suggested such fears have not been realised.

It might be too soon to tell if Meta’s productivity on the business and technology side is being adversely affected.

During Microsoft’s battle with US regulators from 1997 to 2001, the company appeared to be largely unaffected in terms of productivity and output but officials later blamed the lengthy trial, along with paranoia stemming from the trial, for the cautious decisions that might have stifled innovation.

The current trial ultimately comes down to innovation, with the FTC alleging that instead of competing through its own ideas, Meta sought to buy out competitors, which limited consumer choice.

Wednesday’s evidence was given after Meta and Apple were hit with an $800 million fine from the European Commission for breaching competition rules.

The European Commission found Meta had breached competition rules. EPA

Joel Kaplan, Meta’s chief global affairs officer, issued a statement within hours of the fine being issued for breaching the commission's Digital Markets Act.

“The European Commission is attempting to handicap successful American businesses while allowing Chinese and European companies to operate under different standards,” he said.

“This isn’t just about a fine – the commission forcing us to change our business model effectively imposes a multibillion-dollar tariff on Meta while requiring us to offer an inferior service. And by unfairly restricting personalised advertising, the European Commission is also hurting European businesses and economies.”

Meta might now be required to divest from Instagram and WhatsApp, which it also purchased.

Now in its second week and expected to take at least two months, the trial continues.