Thread by @matthewstoller

"In a 2008 internal report entitled “Facebook Secret Sauce,” the company identified as one of the four pillars of its success the fact that it was responsive to users’ desire
for privacy and gave them control over their data."

These internal FB emails on acquisitions are damning.

“Yes – smart idea. we should buy them and own this leverage point . . . .”

“an acquisition could be interesting if for a few million we could slow some competitors down for a quarter or so . . . .”

Oh man. As one Facebook executive put it, “IF ever there was a time to AVOID controversy, it would be when the world is comparing our offerings to G+.” He then recommended that Facebook save any controversial changes “until the direct competitive comparisons begin to die down."

"When a high ranking Facebook executive asked whether one of Zuckerberg’s goals in trying to purchase Instagram was to “neutralize a potential competitor,” Zuckerberg answered that it was."

On the day of the Instagram acquisition, Zuck wrote a FB employee "“I remember your internal post about how Instagram was our threat and not Google+. You were basically right. One thing about startups though is you can often acquire them.”

A 2010 study commissioned by Facebook found there were no alternatives: “For hundreds of millions of people today who want to connect with their friends and family, [Facebook] is the first - and more importantly - only choice."

On July 27, 2011, Facebook introduced a new policy that “Apps on Facebook may not integrate, link to, promote, distribute, or redirect to any app on any other competing social platform.”

Uh

On September 12, 2012, Facebook introduced a new policy: “Competing social networks: You [developers] may
not use Facebook Platform to export user data into a competing social network without our permission[.]”