When Instagram was acquired for $1 billion in 2012, co-founder Kevin Systrom believed that joining Facebook would help Instagram’s “skyrocketing growth” reach even greater heights.

Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom testified that his fledgling photo-sharing app could have succeeded without being acquired by Meta Platforms Inc., and that eventually Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg treated Instagram’s growth as a “threat” and starved it of resources.

Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom told a US court that Mark Zuckerberg saw Instagram as a threat and deliberately restricted its growth after Facebook acquired it.