Meta is gradually shifting to the right, and Zuckerberg is actually targeting Apple: If Apple cancels various fees, Meta's profits could double

Media reports indicate that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg's public outreach to former President Donald Trump has caused unease among employees. At the same time, insiders have revealed to the media that the company is conducting an internal review of employees' critical comments. Sources told the media that although Zuckerberg is attempting to improve his relationship with Trump after his first term, his real goal is to take on Apple. Zuckerberg recently stated in an interview with podcast host Joe Rogan that if Apple stopped implementing those "random rules" to charge Meta fees, Meta's profits would double. Zuckerberg Embraces Trump, Meta Employees Discontent According to CNBC, Zuckerberg released an Instagram video in early 2025 outlining his vision for restoring "freedom of speech" on the Meta platform and stated that he would work with Trump to counter what he believes is a government suppressing American businesses and stifling innovation. However, Zuckerberg did not mention in this five-minute monologue that Meta would use internal reviewers to scrutinize employee criticisms of his plans. He also did not mention that by getting closer to Trump, it might redirect Trump's ire towards Meta's most disliked competitor—Apple. Since Trump's election victory last November and his inauguration in January, Meta has noticeably tilted towards the right. On February 6, Zuckerberg visited the White House, and Meta spokesperson Andy Stone posted on the X platform that the visit was to "discuss how Meta can help the government defend and promote American technology's leadership globally." According to CNBC's interviews with over a dozen current and former Meta employees, there is widespread uncertainty about how Meta will change its corporate culture during Trump's second term. At the Silicon Valley headquarters, the atmosphere has become increasingly tense as Meta is undergoing another round of layoffs. In January, the company announced it would lay off the bottom 5% of performers, with layoffs officially starting this week. Insiders have revealed to the media that Meta is trying to suppress dissenting voices from employees by reviewing critical comments on the company's internal social platform, Workplace. Some employees have stated that negative comments made on Workplace have been warned by management that they could be included in performance evaluations, potentially affecting their career development and employment. At the same time, some significant recent changes at Meta seem to align directly with the Trump administration's positions, including the termination of the company's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs and the relaxation of content moderation guidelines, both of which were key targets in Trump's fierce criticism of "woke policies." In the annual report submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) at the end of January, Meta mentioned these significant policy shifts and included them in the "business risks" section: "In January 2025, we announced certain adjustments to our content policies and enforcement methods to further promote freedom of speech on the platform and reduce the over-enforcement of certain content policies." “If we cannot maintain and enhance our brand image, our ability to attract and retain users, advertisers, and developers may be affected, and our business and financial condition may suffer as a result.” Insiders told the media that Joel Kaplan, former Deputy Chief of Staff to President George W. Bush and current Chief Policy Officer at Meta, is gaining increasing influence within the company and is a key figure driving Meta's shift to the right. In early January, Trump stated in an interview: “Meta has come a long way, and Facebook has really changed a lot. Joel Kaplan has left a deep impression on me.” Zuckerberg's Goal: Use the White House to Pressure Apple Insiders revealed to the media that Zuckerberg is willing to take this risk because maintaining a good relationship with the Trump administration could bring potential strategic benefits to Meta. One of Zuckerberg's biggest concerns is Musk's central role in the Trump administration, especially regarding the direction of large-scale deregulation policies. After all, Meta is not only competing with Musk's X but is also heavily investing in AI, which happens to be the core business of Musk and his AI company xAI. Musk's influence in the White House could put Meta at a disadvantage in AI-related policies. However, compared to AI and Musk, Zuckerberg is most concerned about Apple. In recent years, the relationship between Meta and Apple has been extremely tense. In 2021, Apple launched iOS privacy updates that significantly weakened Meta's ability to track users across websites, directly leading to a $10 billion loss in advertising revenue for Meta in 2022. Within Meta, some employees even referred to this period as the “Cook recession” (Tim Cook recession). Zuckerberg has been one of Apple's strongest critics, but recently, his hostility towards Apple has become more apparent, and he has attempted to shift the government's antitrust investigation focus onto Apple. In January, during an interview with podcast host Joe Rogan, Zuckerberg stated: “Apple is becoming increasingly lacking in innovation; they are putting resources into preventing third-party hardware accessories from working smoothly with the iPhone. They will create products like AirPods, which are indeed cool, but they have completely stifled the ability of other manufacturers to make similar products that connect to the iPhone.” Zuckerberg told Rogan that if Apple stopped imposing “random rules” to restrict Meta, Meta's profits could double. Meta's pressure on Apple is not limited to the United States. At the end of January, Meta filed a complaint with Brazil's competition regulator (CADE), accusing Apple's iOS updates of unfairly targeting third-party applications while not restricting its own applications. According to insiders, Meta has been considering filing an antitrust lawsuit in Brazil since last year