Latest news with #Acton
CTV News
22-05-2025
- CTV News
‘Disappointed and puzzled': Hundreds of trees uprooted, damaged in Halton Hills parks
150 potted trees are seen in Acton's Wallace Park before they were reportedly ripped up. (Halton Hills) More than 100 trees have been uprooted or damaged at two parks in Halton Hills this month. In a news release, the town says a 25-year-old pine tree in Georgetown's Jubilee Park was destroyed, and 150 newly planted trees in Acton's Wallace Park were uprooted. 'There is no excuse for this intentional destruction,' Halton Hills Mayor Ann Lawlor said in the release issued Thursday. 'One of the best features of our town is our beautiful trees and I am profoundly disappointed about the deliberate vandalism of public property.' Lawlor said it was during a townwide clean-up day in Jubilee Park that she noticed axe cuts on the 'mature' pine tree. 'It had been girdled, with cuts through the bark around the trunk diameter to kill it by disrupting its ability to absorb nutrients,' she said. On May 8, volunteers planted about 150 potted trees, but the town says by Mother's Day, neighbourhood residents noticed they had been ripped up. The town says community members attempted to save the trees by replanting and watering them. A community not-for-profit, Trees for Halton Hills, filed a report with the Halton Regional Police Service (HRPS). 'One of the many things that sets Halton Hills apart is the great pride residents take in their community,' said Roger Wilkie, HRPS Deputy Chief of Frontline Operations in the release. 'Vandalism of these, and any public space in our region, are crimes that we, as your police service, take seriously and will not tolerate.' '[I'm] disappointed and puzzled as to why someone would go to the trouble to do this,' said Don Trant, volunteer board member with Trees for Halton Hills. 'We were expanding the edge of the forest by planting native trees which means that they are less susceptible to pests and disease and would provide an environment for other wildlife.' Anyone with information is asked to contact HRPS at 905-825-4777 ext. 2416.
Mint
21-05-2025
- Business
- Mint
WhatsApp co-founder says, ‘Never intended to be Facebook,' defends Meta in antitrust trial
Brian Acton, co-founder of WhatsApp, told a US federal court on Tuesday that the messaging platform never intended to build social networking features like Facebook. This claim bolsters Meta's defence in the ongoing antitrust trial brought by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). 'We had no ambition to build Facebook-like functionality like a feed or any Facebook-like features,' Acton stated during his testimony in Washington. He further suggested that WhatsApp could have remained viable as a subscription-based service rather than resorting to advertising, had it not been acquired by Facebook (now Meta). The testimony comes during the sixth week of a landmark antitrust trial in which the FTC accuses Meta Platforms Inc. of monopolising the social networking space through its acquisitions of WhatsApp and Instagram. The agency is seeking to break up Meta, alleging the company stifled competition by absorbing potential rivals. A central argument in the FTC's case is that Meta saw WhatsApp as a looming threat in the social networking arena, despite the app being a private messaging service at the time of its $19 billion acquisition in 2014. Citing internal messages, the agency has portrayed Meta executives, including CEO Mark Zuckerberg, as concerned that WhatsApp could evolve into a broader social platform. In one 2013 email to Facebook's board, Zuckerberg warned of the risk posed by messaging apps transforming into full-fledged social networks. 'The biggest competitive vector for us is for some company to build out a messaging app for communicating with small groups of people, and then transforming that into a broader social network,' he wrote. However, Meta's legal team is pushing back against this narrative. During Tuesday's session, they presented a handwritten note from Acton himself, emblazoned with the message: 'No Ads! No Games! No Gimmicks!' as evidence of WhatsApp's core philosophy before the acquisition. Acton, who was called as a witness by Meta, affirmed that there were no plans to incorporate social media features or an advertising model into the app's roadmap. Under questioning from FTC lawyers, Acton admitted he was unaware of the specific factors behind Meta's offer but assumed that advertising potential factored into the valuation. He also acknowledged that WhatsApp would have likely continued expanding its feature set independently, though not in a way that mimicked Facebook's platform. Acton also expressed concern over Meta's decision to launch a business version of WhatsApp, criticising it for potentially compromising the app's end-to-end encryption. This commercial arm of WhatsApp was developed after Acton's departure from the company in 2018, a move he said he opposed while still at Meta. Despite the later divergence in values, Acton acknowledged that Meta's offer represented a 'fair valuation' given WhatsApp's user base at the time. He highlighted the app's success with its subscription model in several countries, suggesting there was scope to increase revenues through that route. Since his exit, Acton has publicly distanced himself from his former employer, most notably tweeting '#DeleteFacebook' in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal in 2018. Although he profited significantly from the sale — his net worth is estimated at $4.5 billion, according to Bloomberg — he has expressed regret over the deal, particularly as Meta moved towards monetising WhatsApp through ads. The case,Federal Trade Commission v. Meta Platforms Inc., is being heard in the US District Court for the District of Columbia. (With inputs from Bloomberg)
The Star
21-05-2025
- Business
- The Star
WhatsApp had no plans to vie with Facebook, co-founder says
The FTC alleges that Meta has created an illegal social networking monopoly thanks to its purchases of WhatsApp and Instagram more than a decade ago, and is seeking a breakup of the company. — Pixabay WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton said that his messaging company had no plans to build social networking features to compete with Facebook before he sold the company to Mark Zuckerberg, a claim that bolsters Meta's defence as it faces US federal antitrust allegations. "We had no ambition to build Facebook-like functionality like a feed or any Facebook-like features,' Acton said Tuesday during testimony at a federal courthouse in Washington. He also said that WhatsApp could have stuck with a subscription business instead of selling targeted ads if the service had remained independent. Acton's comments came as part of the US Federal Trade Commission's antitrust trial against Meta Platforms Inc, which is in its sixth week. The agency alleges that Meta has created an illegal social networking monopoly thanks to its purchases of WhatsApp and Instagram more than a decade ago, and is seeking a breakup of the company. Meta has disputed the allegations and argued that it faces vast competition from several rivals, including TikTok and Apple Inc, that the FTC is overlooking. Meta's acquisition of WhatsApp is a key part of the case, with FTC lawyers arguing that Meta viewed the messaging app as a legitimate social networking competitor before buying it in 2014 after a US$19bil offer. While WhatsApp didn't offer social-networking features at the time – it was a private messaging app akin to texting – lawyers for the FTC have said that several rival messaging apps were pushing into social networking around that time. It also surfaced private messages and emails from Meta executives fretting that WhatsApp may do the same. "The biggest competitive vector for us is for some company to build out a messaging app for communicating with small groups of people, and then transforming that into a broader social network,' Meta chief executive officer Zuckerberg wrote to the company's board of directors in February 2013, back when the company was called Facebook. Zuckerberg courted WhatsApp co-founder Jan Koum for over a year before the deal while Meta tracked the growth and feature sets for several mobile messaging apps, including WhatsApp, documents show. Lawyers for Meta, meanwhile, have argued that WhatsApp had no plans to push into social networking, or launch a competitive advertising business. A handwritten note from Acton that read "No Ads! No Games! No Gimmicks!' was displayed in court earlier in the trial, and former employees and board members have testified that there were no plans for such features. Acton was called to the stand Tuesday by Meta in an effort to hammer home this point. During his testimony, Acton was asked by an FTC lawyer whether Meta included advertising value in its offer for WhatsApp. He said he didn't know what exactly went into Meta's calculation, but assumed that advertising would be a component, given its business. Acton also acknowledged under FTC questioning that WhatsApp would have continued its push to add features had it not been acquired by Meta. Separately, he said he had opposed Facebook's launching a business version of WhatsApp, since it would dilute end-to-end encryption, and that the commercial offering was introduced after he left the company. Part of the FTC's case has focused on trying to prove that the deals led to consumer harm that would not have happened had WhatsApp or Instagram stayed independent. In response to questions from Meta's lawyer, Acton said Meta had offered a "fair valuation' for WhatsApp given the size of its audience. Acton also noted the success of its subscription model in seven countries in 2014 and said he believed there was an opportunity for WhatsApp to make even more money off subscriptions by raising prices. Acton has had a colourful history with his former employer since leaving Meta in 2018. He made billions by selling his business – he's now worth US$4.5bil (RM19.22bil), according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index – but eventually left the company after Meta started formulating plans to monetise the app via advertising. Acton thought that doing so would jeopardise the privacy of WhatsApp users, and he has since signalled some regret about selling the app. After Facebook's Cambridge Analytica privacy scandal in 2018, Acton tweeted "#DeleteFacebook'. – Bloomberg
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Business Standard
21-05-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
WhatsApp had no plans to compete with Facebook: Co-founder Brian Acton
By Kurt Wagner and Sabrina Willmer WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton said that his messaging company had no plans to build social networking features to compete with Facebook before he sold the company to Mark Zuckerberg, a claim that bolsters Meta's defense as it faces federal antitrust allegations. 'We had no ambition to build Facebook-like functionality like a feed or any Facebook-like features,' Acton said Tuesday during testimony at a federal courthouse in Washington. He also said that WhatsApp could have stuck with a subscription business instead of selling targeted ads if the service had remained independent. Acton's comments came as part of the US Federal Trade Commission's antitrust trial against Meta Platforms Inc., which is in its sixth week. The agency alleges that Meta has created an illegal social networking monopoly thanks to its purchases of WhatsApp and Instagram more than a decade ago, and is seeking a breakup of the company. Meta has disputed the allegations and argued that it faces vast competition from several rivals, including TikTok and Apple Inc., that the FTC is overlooking. ALSO READ: Google Messages adopts 'Delete for Everyone' from WhatsApp: What is it Meta's acquisition of WhatsApp is a key part of the case, with FTC lawyers arguing that Meta viewed the messaging app as a legitimate social networking competitor before buying it in 2014 after a $19 billion offer. While WhatsApp didn't offer social-networking features at the time — it was a private messaging app akin to texting — lawyers for the FTC have said that several rival messaging apps were pushing into social networking around that time. It also surfaced private messages and emails from Meta executives fretting that WhatsApp may do the same. 'The biggest competitive vector for us is for some company to build out a messaging app for communicating with small groups of people, and then transforming that into a broader social network,' Meta Chief Executive Officer Zuckerberg wrote to the company's board of directors in February 2013, back when the company was called Facebook. Zuckerberg courted WhatsApp co-founder Jan Koum for over a year before the deal while Meta tracked the growth and feature sets for several mobile messaging apps, including WhatsApp, documents show. Lawyers for Meta, meanwhile, have argued that WhatsApp had no plans to push into social networking, or launch a competitive advertising business. A handwritten note from Acton that read 'No Ads! No Games! No Gimmicks!' was displayed in court earlier in the trial, and former employees and board members have testified that there were no plans for such features. Acton was called to the stand Tuesday by Meta in an effort to hammer home this point. ALSO READ: Meta removes 23K Facebook pages linked to investment scams in India, Brazil During his testimony, Acton was asked by an FTC lawyer whether Meta included advertising value in its offer for WhatsApp. He said he didn't know what exactly went into Meta's calculation, but assumed that advertising would be a component, given its business. Acton also acknowledged under FTC questioning that WhatsApp would have continued its push to add features had it not been acquired by Meta. Separately, he said he had opposed Facebook's launching a business version of WhatsApp, since it would dilute end-to-end encryption, and that the commercial offering was introduced after he left the company. Part of the FTC's case has focused on trying to prove that the deals led to consumer harm that would not have happened had WhatsApp or Instagram stayed independent. In response to questions from Meta's lawyer, Acton said Meta had offered a 'fair valuation' for WhatsApp given the size of its audience. Acton also noted the success of its subscription model in seven countries in 2014 and said he believed there was an opportunity for WhatsApp to make even more money off subscriptions by raising prices. ALSO READ: 'Facebook is no longer the culture', says Zuckerberg on fading relevance Acton has had a colorful history with his former employer since leaving Meta in 2018. He made billions by selling his business — he's now worth $4.5 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index — but eventually left the company after Meta started formulating plans to monetize the app via advertising. Acton thought that doing so would jeopardize the privacy of WhatsApp users, and he has since signaled some regret about selling the app. After Facebook's Cambridge Analytica privacy scandal in 2018, Acton tweeted '#DeleteFacebook.' The case is Federal Trade Commission v. Meta Platforms Inc., 20-cv-03590, US District Court, District of Columbia (Washington).
NDTV
21-05-2025
- Business
- NDTV
WhatsApp Had No Plans To Compete With Facebook: Co-Founder Brian Acton
WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton said that his messaging company had no plans to build social networking features to compete with Facebook before he sold the company to Mark Zuckerberg, a claim that bolsters Meta's defense as it faces federal antitrust allegations. "We had no ambition to build Facebook-like functionality like a feed or any Facebook-like features," Acton said Tuesday during testimony at a federal courthouse in Washington. He also said that WhatsApp could have stuck with a subscription business instead of selling targeted ads if the service had remained independent. Acton's comments came as part of the US Federal Trade Commission's antitrust trial against Meta Platforms Inc., which is in its sixth week. The agency alleges that Meta has created an illegal social networking monopoly thanks to its purchases of WhatsApp and Instagram more than a decade ago, and is seeking a breakup of the company. Meta has disputed the allegations and argued that it faces vast competition from several rivals, including TikTok and Apple Inc., that the FTC is overlooking. Meta's acquisition of WhatsApp is a key part of the case, with FTC lawyers arguing that Meta viewed the messaging app as a legitimate social networking competitor before buying it in 2014 after a $19 billion offer. While WhatsApp didn't offer social-networking features at the time - it was a private messaging app akin to texting - lawyers for the FTC have said that several rival messaging apps were pushing into social networking around that time. It also surfaced private messages and emails from Meta executives fretting that WhatsApp may do the same. "The biggest competitive vector for us is for some company to build out a messaging app for communicating with small groups of people, and then transforming that into a broader social network," Meta Chief Executive Officer Zuckerberg wrote to the company's board of directors in February 2013, back when the company was called Facebook. Zuckerberg courted WhatsApp co-founder Jan Koum for over a year before the deal while Meta tracked the growth and feature sets for several mobile messaging apps, including WhatsApp, documents show. Lawyers for Meta, meanwhile, have argued that WhatsApp had no plans to push into social networking, or launch a competitive advertising business. A handwritten note from Acton that read "No Ads! No Games! No Gimmicks!" was displayed in court earlier in the trial, and former employees and board members have testified that there were no plans for such features. Acton was called to the stand Tuesday by Meta in an effort to hammer home this point. During his testimony, Acton was asked by an FTC lawyer whether Meta included advertising value in its offer for WhatsApp. He said he didn't know what exactly went into Meta's calculation, but assumed that advertising would be a component, given its business. Acton also acknowledged under FTC questioning that WhatsApp would have continued its push to add features had it not been acquired by Meta. Separately, he said he had opposed Facebook's launching a business version of WhatsApp, since it would dilute end-to-end encryption, and that the commercial offering was introduced after he left the company. Part of the FTC's case has focused on trying to prove that the deals led to consumer harm that would not have happened had WhatsApp or Instagram stayed independent. In response to questions from Meta's lawyer, Acton said Meta had offered a "fair valuation" for WhatsApp given the size of its audience. Acton also noted the success of its subscription model in seven countries in 2014 and said he believed there was an opportunity for WhatsApp to make even more money off subscriptions by raising prices. Acton has had a colorful history with his former employer since leaving Meta in 2018. He made billions by selling his business - he's now worth $4.5 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index - but eventually left the company after Meta started formulating plans to monetize the app via advertising. Acton thought that doing so would jeopardize the privacy of WhatsApp users, and he has since signaled some regret about selling the app. After Facebook's Cambridge Analytica privacy scandal in 2018, Acton tweeted "#DeleteFacebook." The case is Federal Trade Commission v. Meta Platforms Inc., 20-cv-03590, US District Court, District of Columbia (Washington).
