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Zuckerberg’s Meta Faces Competition Lawsuit in U.S.

The trial will extend until July 2025. If the FTC wins this first phase, a second and even tougher stage would begin, aiming to argue that forcing Meta to sell Instagram and WhatsApp would directly benefit competition and consumers.

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Zuckerberg is back in the news, this time not to announce the purchase of another company, but quite the opposite.

Union Rayo, reported that this time, Zuckerberg has had to defend himself in a trial that could redefine the history of digital business.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has taken Meta (the parent company led by the mogul) to court, accusing them of eliminating competition through “killer acquisitions” (buying the competition to shut it down).

That’s exactly the case here, and Zuckerberg might have to say goodbye to his last two purchases: WhatsApp and Instagram. How legal is it to buy your competitors so they won’t outshine you? That’s for a judge to decide.

This trial has been open since April 14, and it has revealed some incredible facts, such as that the purchase of those last two social networks, WhatsApp (one billion dollars) and Instagram (19 billion dollars), could be an illegal strategy.

On the stand, Zuckerberg himself admitted that Facebook is no longer used to connect with family and friends. Want to know more about what’s happening to Meta? We’ll tell you below.

Facebook no longer serves its original purpose”

During his testimony, Zuckerberg admitted that the social network that made him a billionaire is no longer what it used to be.

Today, he explained, Meta is no longer about personal relationships.

Meta is focused on content, discovering viral trends, and following global conversations.

He said it himself: what used to be a platform to share pictures of your cat with distant relatives or childhood classmates is now a showcase where the algorithm is in charge.

Justifying the most controversial acquisitions

The trial also focused (a lot) on Meta’s two most controversial acquisitions: Instagram (in 2012) and WhatsApp (in 2014). Zuckerberg defended both decisions.

He said those platforms wouldn’t have survived without Meta’s investment, and now they’re essential tools for billions of people. Basically, his argument was: “We didn’t destroy them, we made them bigger”

The FTC’s accusations: a strategy to eliminate competition?

In search of a solo reign? Of course, the FTC didn’t see it that way at all.

During the trial, internal emails were shown where Zuckerberg described Instagram as a “terrifying threat” that had to be neutralized “at all costs”.

A rejected 6 billion dollar offer for Snap in 2013 was also revealed, which, according to prosecutors, proves a systematic policy of eliminating rivals.

Was it then a strategy to get rid of the competition? Naturally, the ghost of monopoly is hanging over them, since they have 2 billion direct users between WhatsApp and Instagram alone, with these two companies generating more than half of Meta’s advertising revenue.

“We are not a monopoly”

Meta insists it’s not acting alone. Platforms like TikTok, Reddit, YouTube and X (formerly Twitter) are cited as direct competition.

The company also reminds everyone that all of its acquisitions were legally approved at the time. And of course, undoing them now would just be changing the rules of the tech game.

What’s coming: a battle

The trial will extend until July 2025. If the FTC wins this first phase, a second and even tougher stage would begin, aiming to argue that forcing Meta to sell Instagram and WhatsApp would directly benefit competition and consumers.

What’s at stake?

Basically, the future of how large digital platforms work.

If Meta loses, it wouldn’t be surprising if other giants like Google or Amazon start facing similar lawsuits.

Pressure against big tech isn’t new, but this time, the one on the ropes is Zuckerberg. And this time, there’s no “like” button to save him

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Crime

Chinese national apprehended in Anambra for involvement in illegal mining.

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A 45-year-old Chinese national, Mr. Mu Hua Qiang, has been arrested in Aguleri, Anambra State, for alleged involvement in illegal mining. He was apprehended by operatives of the Operation Clean and Healthy Anambra (OCHA) Brigade during a surveillance operation and handed over to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Awka.

Police spokesperson Tochukwu Ikenga confirmed the arrest, stating that the suspect’s statement was taken and he is in custody pending further investigation. Authorities say illegal mining remains a serious concern in Anambra due to its environmental and security risks.

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International

Education: Denmark permitting use of AI for English exams from 2026

We are launching pilot schemes to try to find the right balance,” Education Minister Mattias Tesfaye said in a statement, emphasising the need to encourage digital learning while upholding teaching standards.

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The Danish education ministry announced on Friday students in some high schools in Denmark will be allowed to use artificial intelligence to write English language exams from next year.

The move comes as education authorities around the world debate whether AI is a useful learning tool for those entering an increasingly digital economy, or a slippery slope to producing dumbed-down graduates.

The Danish government said the permitted use of AI in the English curriculum from 2026 would be experimental, and apply only to the oral component of the English exam for the high school diploma.

In that test, once a student is handed their topic, they would have one hour to prepare, during which they would be “permitted to use all available tools, including generative AI”, the ministry said.

The students would then have to give their oral presentation in person in front of an examiner.

“We are launching pilot schemes to try to find the right balance,” Education Minister Mattias Tesfaye said in a statement, emphasising the need to encourage digital learning while upholding teaching standards.

“With students growing up in both analogue and digital worlds, we need to ready them in the best way possible for the reality they will encounter after their schooling.

”When it comes to the written part of the English test, the ministry said students would have to do part of it handwritten to ensure no reliance on computers.

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International

Trump pledges to maintain federal forces in Washington amid mounting criticism.

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President Donald Trump on Thursday visited police and troops he has deployed in the US capital in what he calls a crackdown on crime, saying they were going to “stay here for a while.”

Trump ordered hundreds of members of the Guard, a reserve force, to deploy in Washington last week vowing to “take our capital back,” despite protests by some residents and statistics showing violent offenses falling.

“We’re going to make it safe, and we’re going to then go on to other places, but we’re going to stay here for a while. We want to make this absolutely perfect,” he said outside a US Park Police facility in Washington.

The 79-year-old Republican was surrounded by law enforcement from various local and federal agencies as well as National Guard troops.

Earlier Thursday he suggested he would go on patrol with police and the military, but instead he made a short speech and gave out pizzas and hamburgers.

“Everybody feels safe,” Trump said, adding that he plans to get the capital “fixed up physically.”

“One of the things we’re going to be redoing is your parks. I’m very good at grass, because I have a lot of golf courses all over the place. I know more about grass than any human being,” he added.

Trump wrote on social media early Friday that “there were no murders this week for the first time in memory” in Washington.

He said Mayor Muriel Bowser “must immediately stop giving false and highly inaccurate crime figures, or bad things will happen, including a complete and total Federal takeover of the City!”

Bowser has said that violent crime in the capital has been its lowest level in three decades.

Trump’s visit came a day after his vice president, JD Vance, was greeted by boos and shouts of “Free DC” — referring to Washington’s formal name, the District of Columbia — on his own meet-and-greet with troops.

Vance dismissed the hecklers as “a bunch of crazy protesters.”

The DC National Guard has mobilized 800 troops, while Republican states Ohio, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia are sending a total of around 1,200.

They have been spotted in tourist areas such as the National Mall and its monuments, the Nationals Park baseball stadium and others.

The overwhelmingly Democratic US capital faces allegations from Republican politicians that it is overrun by crime, plagued by homelessness and financially mismanaged.

But data from Washington police showed significant drops in violent crime between 2023 and 2024, though that was coming off the back of a post-pandemic surge.

Some residents have welcomed the crackdown, pointing to crime in their areas — but others have complained the show of force is unnecessary, or has not been seen in parts of Washington where violence is concentrated.

– Sandwich guy –

Several incidents involving the surge of law enforcement have gone viral as residents voice their discontent, including the arrest of one man who was caught on camera throwing a sandwich at an agent.

Banksy-style posters honoring the so-called “sandwich guy” have popped up around the city.

The National Guard troops have provided “critical support such as crowd management, presence patrols and perimeter control in support of law enforcement,” according to social media statements.

In addition to sending troops into the streets, Trump has also sought to take full control of the Washington police department, attempting at one point to sideline its leadership.

The deployment of troops in Washington comes after Trump dispatched the National Guard and Marines to quell unrest in Los Angeles, California, that was sparked by immigration enforcement raids

AFP

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