SUBJECT-9869.dossier · company · status: active
Meta Platforms MP
subject of file

Meta Platforms

Tracked because Owns Facebook and Instagram — both linked to documented cognitive and mental health harms.
Editorial summary · AI-drafted from public records

Parent company of Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Threads. Founded by Mark Zuckerberg.

Facts on record30
Connections mapped45
Sources cited42
Inferential claims1
✦ Thin coverage gap +33 connected to 45 entities · only 30 facts on record · flagged for follow-up research
Evidence: 26P+18 3S 1I
🧠 Cognitive harm you own/control
Primary confidence
Aggregated from 2 platforms owned, funded, or controlled by Meta Platforms.
53
Score 0–100
Moderate
Facebook
55
4 documented harms · Moderate
Instagram
44
3 documented harms · Moderate
Score combines documented harm count, severity weighting, platform reach, and engineered mechanisms. See full methodology →
Stated vs Revealed
No documented contradictions on file.
[PUBLIC COST ESTIMATE]
Documented financial relationships span 0 money flow chains, while 10 elected officials hold documented connections.
0Money Chains
0Traced Hops
Connected Officials
Calculation Methodology

Contract values are summed from documented money flow chains where this entity appears as a source or destination node. Amounts are drawn from USASpending.gov, FEC filings, SEC EDGAR, or LD-2 lobbying registrations.

Donor contributions aggregate documented amounts from the donor_interests table, sourced from FEC individual and PAC contribution filings.

Connected officials are elected officials in our database with a mapped relationship (lobbying, board membership, campaign contribution, etc.) to this entity.

Annualised flow represents the total documented dollar amount traced through money flow hops involving this entity. Where hop-level amounts are unavailable, the chain-level documented total is used as a conservative upper bound.

All figures are drawn from public filings. Estimates are conservative — undisclosed transactions, dark money, and vanish-point hops are excluded from totals. This is a minimum documented floor, not a ceiling.

PATTERN elected official → [colleague] → elected official → [dono... 1106× PATTERN company → [subsidiary] → company → [subsidiary] → company 937× PATTERN organization → [donor] → person → [oversight] → company 876× PATTERN organization → [donor] → person → [stock ownership] → com... 624× PATTERN person → [donor] → company → [competitor] → company 558×
Connection Map
Oversight gaps detected (1) The Oversight Wall →
med · primary · enforcement gap
No documented enforcement against Meta Platforms
Key Connections
→ Internal Revenue Service (IRS) institution
oversight
Meta Platforms, Inc. has IRS Employer ID 20-1665019; subject to U.S. tax regulations.
← PayPal Mafia organization
former CEO/product connection
PayPal Mafia formed through PayPal sale to eBay. Peter Thiel was an early Facebook investor and board member. Other PayPal Mafia members like Reid Hoffman (LinkedIn) were part of this broader network.
← Good Ventures institution
source of wealth / former employer
Dustin Moskovitz, co-founder of Good Ventures, amassed the wealth that funds Good Ventures through his co-founding role at Facebook/Meta Platforms. Good Ventures' philanthropic capacity is directly tied to the value of Moskovitz's Meta equity.
→ Instagram company
Acquisition Target (Antitrust Subject)
Meta acquired Instagram in 2012 for $1 billion; FTC alleges the acquisition eliminated competitive threats, now subject to antitrust trial.
← Snap Inc. company
competitor
Snap Inc. (Snapchat) and Meta Platforms (Instagram) compete in social media and augmented reality markets.
→ WhatsApp company
Acquisition Target (Antitrust Subject)
Meta acquired WhatsApp in 2014 for $19.3 billion; acquisition challenged by FTC as anticompetitive.
← Oculus VR company
acquisition
Oculus VR was acquired by Facebook (now Meta Platforms) in a deal valued at $2 billion, including $400 million in cash and $1.6 billion in Facebook stock, plus earnouts and RSU grants.
← Palmer Luckey person
employment
Facebook (now Meta) acquired Oculus VR for approximately $2 billion in 2014; Luckey departed Facebook in March 2017.
Facts (30)
Data Freshness
Ageing Last update: 166d ago · Avg age: 453d
Confidence Tiers: Primary Source — cross-referenced government/corporate filings Pending Review — sourced but not independently verified AI Inference — analytical hypothesis from cross-referencing
✓ Verified Findings (29)
Independently re-checked: a second model read the source artifact and confirmed it supports the extracted claim.
Partially Corroborated Meta's Family of Apps segment generates 98.9% of net sales through operation of social networking, messaging, photo and video sharing platforms, with only 1.1% from virtual and augmented reality products.
Primary Source In 2024, 79% of Meta's total costs and expenses were recognized in Family of Apps (advertising-driven) and 21% in Reality Labs, with substantially all revenue generated through advertising across Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp.
Primary Source Regulatory action: European Commission opened formal proceedings in March 2024 regarding Meta's 'subscription for no ads' model compliance with Digital Markets Act requirements, with preliminary findings issued in July 2024.
Primary Source Regulatory action: FTC filed notice of appeal on January 20, 2026, challenging the District Court's November 2025 ruling in favor of Meta in the monopolization case.
Primary Source Regulatory action: U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg ruled in favor of Meta on November 18, 2025, finding the FTC failed to prove Meta currently possesses monopoly power in personal social networking.
Primary Source Regulatory action: FTC antitrust trial against Meta began on April 14, 2025, challenging the company's acquisitions of Instagram (2012) and WhatsApp (2014) as anticompetitive.
Primary Source Peter Thiel retired from Meta's board at the 2022 Annual Shareholder Meeting after serving since 2005.
Partially Corroborated Seven of Meta's ten male board members are billionaires, including Marc Andreessen, John Arnold, John Elkann, Drew Houston, Hock Tan, Tony Xu, and Mark Zuckerberg.
Partially Corroborated Meta appointed UFC CEO Dana White and two other white men to its board in January 2025, shifting board composition to 10 men and 3 women (23% female).
Primary Source Meta spent $26,290,000 on federal lobbying in 2025, hiring 21 additional lobbyists compared to 2024 to address data center and AI policy issues.
Primary Source Regulatory enforcement action: FTC v. Meta antitrust trial began with CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifying on first day regarding Instagram and WhatsApp acquisitions.
Primary Source Earnings report: Meta filed its Annual Report on Form 10-K for fiscal year ended December 31, 2024, disclosing investment focus on AI, metaverse, and infrastructure.
Primary Source Earnings report: Meta issued press release and held conference call regarding Q3 2024 financial results.
Primary Source Earnings report: Meta reported Q4 and full year 2024 financial results, with revenue of $164.5B for FY2024 and cash position of $77.81B as of Dec 31, 2024.
Primary Source Meta's Llama AI models were made available to U.S. government agencies including defense and national security applications under the OneGov agreement with GSA (September 2025). The U.S. Army also awarded a combat goggle prototype contract to an Anduril-Meta team.
Primary Source Meta donated $1 million to Donald Trump's 2025 inauguration fund — its first-ever contribution to a presidential inauguration — after declining to contribute to the 2017 fund. Meta also paid $25 million to settle a lawsuit Trump filed against the company.
✓ verified Pending Review Meta expanded its board of directors in 2025, adding Dana White (UFC CEO and Trump confidant), John Elkann (Stellantis Chair), Charlie Songhurst (tech investor), Dina Powell McCormick (former Republican/Goldman Sachs official), and Patrick Collison (Stripe CEO), bringing total board size to approximately 13 members.
Date: 2025-01-06 Added: 02 May 2026
✓ verified Pending Review The FTC's antitrust trial against Meta began in April 2025, alleging Meta illegally acquired Instagram (2012, $1 billion) and WhatsApp (2014, $19.3 billion) to eliminate nascent competitive threats. The FTC appealed a 2024 district court dismissal; the case threatens unwinding of the deals.
Date: 2025-04-14 Added: 02 May 2026
Primary Source In January 2025, Meta ended its U.S. third-party fact-checking program, replacing it with a Community Notes system. The Oversight Board criticized the decision as 'hasty' and in 'departure from regular procedure,' while hate speech and violent content on Facebook subsequently increased.
Primary Source Meta spent $7.99 million on federal lobbying in Q1 2025 alone — a 43.19% increase from Q4 2024 — amid Congressional debate on the TAKE IT DOWN Act. Total lobbying in 2024 was previously reported at approximately $10 million in the EU and $7.6 million in a single U.S. quarter.
Primary Source Meta's PAC (META PLATFORMS, INC. PAC, FEC ID C00502906) raised $341,607 in the 2023-2024 cycle and contributed $197,300 to federal candidates — 56.74% to Republicans and 40.22% to Democrats. The PAC has been active since September 30, 2011.
Date: 2024-12-31 Added: 02 May 2026 ↗ SOURCE: PAC Profile: Meta — OpenSecrets
✓ verified Pending Review Cumulative GDPR fines against Meta exceed €2.5 billion, including a record €1.2 billion (May 2023) for unlawful EU-US data transfers, €251 million (Dec 2024) for a 2018 data breach, €91 million (Sep 2024) for plaintext password storage, and earlier fines totaling €405 million.
Date: 2023-2024 Added: 02 May 2026
Primary Source Meta was fined €797.72 million by the European Commission in November 2024 for antitrust violations related to tying Facebook Marketplace to its social network. Meta appealed. In April 2025, the Commission fined Meta an additional €200 million under the Digital Markets Act for its 'pay or consent' advertising model.
✓ verified Pending Review Global workforce was 78,865 employees as of December 31, 2025, up 6.48% from 74,067 in 2024. In April 2026, Meta announced layoffs of approximately 10% of its workforce (~8,000 jobs) amid the pivot toward AI investments.
Date: 2025-12-31 Added: 02 May 2026
Primary Source Reality Labs posted a $19.1 billion operating loss in 2025 on revenue of $2.2 billion, bringing cumulative losses since 2020 to approximately $83-90 billion. The division lost $4.03 billion in Q1 2026 alone.
✓ verified Pending Review Family daily active people (DAP) averaged 3.58 billion in December 2025, up 7% year-over-year. Facebook MAUs reached 3.07 billion, Instagram MAUs hit 3 billion, and Meta AI reached 1 billion MAUs across the family of apps.
Date: 2025-12-31 Added: 02 May 2026
✓ verified Pending Review Capital expenditures totaled $72.22 billion in 2025, with 2026 guidance surging to $115–$135 billion — driven primarily by AI infrastructure including the Meta Superintelligence Labs initiative. The company plans to invest $600 billion in U.S. AI data centers over three years.
Date: 2026-01-28 Added: 02 May 2026
✓ verified Pending Review Total revenue for FY2025 was $200.97 billion (up 22% YoY), Q4 2025 revenue was $59.89 billion (up 24% YoY). Net income for Q4 2025 was $22.8 billion with EPS of $8.88. Advertising revenue constituted 98.7% of total revenue.
Date: 2025-12-31 Added: 02 May 2026
Primary Source Meta Platforms, Inc. was originally incorporated as TheFacebook, Inc. in Delaware on July 29, 2004, renamed Facebook, Inc. in 2005, and renamed Meta Platforms, Inc. on October 28, 2021. Its principal executive offices are at 1 Meta Way, Menlo Park, California. IRS Employer ID: 20-1665019.
AI Analysis (1)
AI-generated inferences derived from cross-referencing primary and secondary data. These are analytical hypotheses, not established facts — they are the platform's read, not its record, and the verification pipeline covers their provenance, not their truth. Where verification stops →
⚠ flagged by Gemini AI Inferencew·40 Meta Platforms filed filing with the SEC on 2022-02-16. Accession number: N/A.
All Connections (45)
→ Instagram company
Acquisition Target (Antitrust Subject) primary since 2012
Meta acquired Instagram in 2012 for $1 billion; FTC alleges the acquisition eliminated competitive threats, now subject to antitrust trial.
→ WhatsApp company
Acquisition Target (Antitrust Subject) primary since 2014
Meta acquired WhatsApp in 2014 for $19.3 billion; acquisition challenged by FTC as anticompetitive.
→ Donald Trump person
Financial Contribution and Legal Settlement primary since 2025
Meta donated $1 million to Trump's 2025 inauguration fund and paid $25 million to settle a lawsuit Trump filed against the company.
→ US Army institution
contractor primary since 2025
U.S. Army awarded a combat goggle prototype contract to an Anduril-Meta team; also made Llama AI models available via OneGov agreement with GSA.
affiliation primary since 2025
Marc Andreessen, co-founder of a16z, serves on Meta's board and is one of seven male billionaire board members.
oversight secondary since 2025
FTC antitrust trial against Meta began in April 2025; FTC filed notice of appeal on January 20, 2026 challenging district court ruling favoring Meta.
→ Alphabet company
competitor inferential since 2022
Meta competes with Alphabet (Google) in digital advertising; 98.7% of Meta's revenue from advertising.
Technology Customer inferential since 2025
Meta's Llama AI models were made available to U.S. government agencies including defense and national security applications.
→ Nvidia company
Technology Supplier inferential since 2025
Meta's $115-$135 billion capital expenditure guidance for AI infrastructure likely involves Nvidia GPU purchases.
→ Elon Musk person
Legal Adversary secondary since 2025
Meta paid $25 million to settle a lawsuit filed by Trump; Musk has publicly criticized Meta's AI and social media practices.
Government Customer primary since 2025
Meta's Llama AI models available to defense agencies; Anduril-Meta combat goggle contract with U.S. Army.
oversight primary since 2004
Meta Platforms, Inc. has IRS Employer ID 20-1665019; subject to U.S. tax regulations.
oversight secondary since 2025
Meta's $72.22 billion capital expenditures and AI infrastructure investments subject to government efficiency scrutiny.
donor primary
2026 cycle: $40,000 via Meta Platforms, Inc. PAC. Coons has publicly attacked Facebook while accepting its donations, a dynamic he defended as not hypocritical.
→ TikTok company
competitor inferential since 2022
Meta competes with TikTok and ByteDance in short-form video and social media; Facebook MAUs reached 3.07 billion.
→ xAI company
competitor inferential since 2025
Meta competes with xAI in AI model development through Llama models and AI supercomputing investments.
→ OpenAI company
competitor inferential since 2025
Meta AI reached 1 billion MAUs; Meta competes with OpenAI in generative AI market space.
→ Anthropic company
competitor inferential since 2025
Meta's Llama models compete with Anthropic's Claude in the AI assistant market.
→ Google company
competitor inferential since 2022
Meta competes with Google for digital advertising revenue and cloud/AI infrastructure services.
→ SpaceX company
competitor inferential since 2025
Meta competes with SpaceX Starlink in internet connectivity; however, Meta focuses on metaverse/VR rather than satellite.
← Mark Zuckerberg person
founder, subsidiary primary
Founder, CEO and controlling shareholder of Meta (Cognitive Impact: Facebook) · Owner via Meta Platforms (Cognitive Impact: Instagram)
← Anduril Industries company
defense_contracting_partner primary
Meta partnered with Anduril on a U.S. Army combat goggle prototype contract (September 2025). Anduril's Palmer Luckey is the former founder of Oculus.
← Peter Thiel person
membership primary
Peter Thiel retired from Meta's board at the 2022 Annual Shareholder Meeting after serving since 2005.
← Snap Inc. company
competitor primary since 2013
Snap Inc. (Snapchat) and Meta Platforms (Instagram) compete in social media and augmented reality markets.
← TechCrunch company
coverage_subject secondary since 2005
TechCrunch regularly covers Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook) including product launches, policy changes, and regulatory issues.
← Oculus VR company
acquisition primary since 2014
Oculus VR was acquired by Facebook (now Meta Platforms) in a deal valued at $2 billion, including $400 million in cash and $1.6 billion in Facebook stock, plus earnouts and RSU grants.
← Vince Chhabria person
presided over settlement approval primary since 2023
Judge Vince Chhabria granted preliminary approval of Meta's $725 million class action settlement on March 29, 2023.
← PayPal Mafia organization
former CEO/product connection primary since 2004
PayPal Mafia formed through PayPal sale to eBay. Peter Thiel was an early Facebook investor and board member. Other PayPal Mafia members like Reid Hoffman (LinkedIn) were part of this broader network.
← YouTube company
competitor inferential since 2010
Meta Platforms owns Facebook and Instagram, which compete with YouTube for user attention and digital advertising revenue in the video and social media space.
← Chuck Schumer elected official
indirect_association inferential since 2024
Schumer voted for infrastructure bill and other legislation; no direct documented connection to Meta.
← Julia Letlow person
stock_ownership primary since 2026
Late-disclosed stock trades included shares of Meta (Facebook), which lobbies Congress
← Palmer Luckey person
employment primary since 2014
Facebook (now Meta) acquired Oculus VR for approximately $2 billion in 2014; Luckey departed Facebook in March 2017.
← Aleksandr Kogan person
Legal/Regulatory primary since 2018
Kogan's work resulted in significant regulatory actions against Meta (formerly Facebook) for allowing third-party access to user data without adequate consent.
platform / subject of violation primary since 2014
Meta Platforms (then Facebook Inc.) was the company whose data policies were violated by SCL's unauthorised collection and use of user data for political profiling.
← Richard Blumenthal elected official
antitrust investigation target primary since 2024
Joined Warren and Wyden calling on FTC to investigate Meta's 'reverse acqui-hire' deals as 'de facto mergers'.
← Zac Moffatt person
business primary since 2022
In 2022, the Washington Post revealed that Meta hired Targeted Victory, Moffatt's firm, to orchestrate a campaign disparaging TikTok by placing negative op-eds.
← This Is Your Digital Life instrument
platform impacted primary since 2018
The 'This Is Your Digital Life' scandal involved Meta Platforms (then Facebook), leading to investigations into data privacy practices and resulting in a $5 billion FTC fine.
← Zoe Lofgren person
oversight primary since 2021
As part of House Judiciary Committee work, Lofgren voted to approve the antitrust subcommittee report that found Facebook (Meta) holds monopoly power.
subsidiary primary since 2014
Facebook Technologies LLC is a direct subsidiary and operating entity within Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook Inc.).
legal primary since 2014
Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook) was the ultimate defendant in the Oculus VR litigation that Total Recall Technologies LLC participated in, as Facebook acquired Oculus in 2014 and was the parent company of Facebook Technologies LLC.
← Dario Amodei person
former employer/colleague nexus inferential since 2022
Several former Meta employees and researchers (such as those working on AI) have moved to Anthropic, though Dario Amodei himself was not at Meta; connection via talent flow.
← Good Ventures institution
source of wealth / former employer primary since 2011
Dustin Moskovitz, co-founder of Good Ventures, amassed the wealth that funds Good Ventures through his co-founding role at Facebook/Meta Platforms. Good Ventures' philanthropic capacity is directly tied to the value of Moskovitz's Meta equity.
← Reid Hoffman Foundation institution
Indirect Connection via Hoffman inferential since 2004
Reid Hoffman was an early investor in Facebook (Meta Platforms) and served on its board; the Reid Hoffman Foundation indirectly benefits from this investment.
← Michael McCaul elected official
financial transaction / conflict of interest primary since 2024
In May 2024, McCaul was publicly accused of insider trading after his household purchased approximately $1.15 million in Meta stock shortly after he introduced legislation to ban TikTok, a direct Meta competitor. McCaul's office denied wrongdoing.
← John Hickenlooper elected official
donor primary since 2019
Notable contributor with $71,638 (listed as Meta in contributor data).
Sources (42)
2026 UNVERIFIED Research: Meta Platforms — Lobbying disclosures (no results) government_disclosure Processed 📜 Receipt
2026 UNVERIFIED Research: Meta Platforms — Court records (no results) court_document Processed 📜 Receipt
2026 UNVERIFIED Research: Meta Platforms — Corporate registrations (no results) government_disclosure Processed 📜 Receipt
2026 UNVERIFIED Research: Meta Platforms — Parliamentary records (no results) parliamentary_record Processed 📜 Receipt
2026 UNVERIFIED Research: Meta Platforms — USASpending contracts (no results) contract Processed 📜 Receipt
2026-04-23 ↗ Meta to Cut 10 Percent of Work Force external_handoff Processed 📜 Receipt
2024 ↗ PAC Profile: Meta — OpenSecrets external_handoff Processed 📜 Receipt
2026-04-23 UNVERIFIED SEARCH_ERROR: Meta Platforms not found in opencorporates claim_flag Processed 📜 Receipt