AI friends face FTC and co. skepticism as Meta pursues social network domination

Zuckerberg‘s internal contradiction at the FTC trial reveals Meta’s strategic pivot in social media. In testimony aimed at deflecting monopoly concerns, the CEO claimed personal sharing on social platforms is declining in importance while simultaneously developing AI tools to mine and leverage exactly this type of intimate content. This paradoxical position highlights Meta’s struggle to redefine its business amid regulatory scrutiny, technological shifts, and changing user behaviors.

The big picture: Mark Zuckerberg testified at the FTC’s monopoly trial that Meta no longer views dominating personal social networking as strategically important, contradicting the company’s recent product decisions.

• During testimony, Zuckerberg claimed people increasingly use social media for content discovery rather than personal connections, arguing “it doesn’t matter much” if someone’s friends are on their preferred platform.
• Meta presented data showing declines in “time spent viewing content posted by friends” on both Facebook (22% to 17%) and Instagram (11% to 7%) over the past two years.

Conflicting signals: Despite Zuckerberg’s testimony minimizing the importance of personal connections, Meta recently announced initiatives explicitly designed to revitalize friend-based interactions.

• Weeks before Zuckerberg’s testimony, Meta announced plans to bring back the “magic of friends” by introducing a dedicated “friends” tab to Facebook, revitalizing the platform’s original purpose.
• The company acknowledged intentionally diluting feeds with creator content and ads over the past two years, but now appears to be reversing course.

Reading between the lines: The apparent contradiction suggests Meta’s testimony may be tactically aimed at deflecting the FTC’s monopoly allegations rather than reflecting its true strategic priorities.

• The FTC’s case alleges Meta bought Instagram and WhatsApp to lock users into its ecosystem for personal sharing, a claim Zuckerberg’s testimony seems designed to undermine.
• MeWe founder Mark Weinstein told Ars Technica that “owning the biggest platforms that people use daily to connect with friends and family obviously still matters to Meta.”

Why this matters: Meta’s renewed focus on personal connections appears linked to its ambitions in artificial intelligence, raising new privacy concerns.

• The company is developing AI chatbots that mine personal information shared on Facebook and Instagram to create more personalized interactions.
• The Washington Post characterized this approach as connecting with users “in a very creepy way,” suggesting new ethical questions about how Meta monetizes personal relationships.

What they’re saying: Zuckerberg has suggested AI could fill perceived gaps in users’ social lives.

• In interviews, he claimed the average person has only three friends but “has demand” for up to 15, positioning AI companions as a solution to this supposed deficit.