The Trial Mark Zuckerberg Couldn’t Prevent

Testimonies began this week in one of the most aggressive cases the government has ever brought against a big tech company. Over the next eight weeks, the Federal Trade Commission will argue that Meta, the company founded by Mark Zuckerberg, should be broken up.


Cecilia Kang, who covers technology and regulatory policy, discusses the strange and contentious relationship between Mr. Zuckerberg and President Trump that has led to this moment, and what the case means for them.


Guest: Cecilia Kang (https://www.nytimes.com/by/cecilia-kang) , a reporter covering technology and regulatory policy for The New York Times.


Background reading: 

• At trial, Mark Zuckerberg defended buying Instagram and WhatsApp (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/15/te...) .
• Tech C.E.O.s have spent millions courting the president (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/08/te...) . It has yet to pay off.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily (http://nytimes.com/thedaily?smid=pc-t...) . Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 


Photo: Tom Brenner for The New York Times






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