Lauren Feiner

Washington, D.C., United States

Senior Policy Reporter at The Verge

Covering tech policy @verge | Formerly @CNBC | Most likely to have "just listened to a podcast about that" | she/her | Tips? Find me on Signal @ laurenfeiner.64

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Articles

Instagram CEO testifies about competing with TikTok: ‘You’re either growing, or you’re slowly dying’

6 days ago | theverge.com | Lauren Feiner

Politics /Regulation /AntitrustAdam Mosseri says Meta got a reality check when TikTok gained steam. Adam Mosseri says Meta got a reality check when TikTok gained steam. May 8, 2025, 10:00 PM UTCImage: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty ImagesLauren Feiner is a senior policy reporter at The Verge, covering the intersection of Silicon Valley and Capitol Hill. She spent 5 years covering tech policy at CNBC, writing about antitrust, privacy, and content moderation reform.
People like Meta about as much as Wells Fargo.

6 days ago | theverge.com | Lauren Feiner

Posted May 8, 2025 at 9:03 PM UTCLLauren FeinerPeople like Meta about as much as Wells Fargo. Schultz says when he took on the task of leading the company’s brand reputation, it was like “catching a falling knife.” But things have since gotten better. He says relative brand sentiment for Meta falls somewhere in the middle of other companies it measures against, putting it pretty close to the bank that in 2020 settled a criminal investigation with the US government over alleged fraud.
Focusing on friends and family helped Instagram grow.

6 days ago | theverge.com | Lauren Feiner

Posted May 8, 2025 at 8:48 PM UTCFocusing on friends and family helped Instagram grow. When Instagram ran a test showing one group more friends and family-focused content, it reported in 2016 that it found a 7 percent increase in time spent on the platform and a 7 percentage point increase in user retention. Turning to cross-examination, Meta’s attorney points out a lot has changed in the market since that period.
Keeping Messenger alive post-WhatsApp could ‘prove there is competition.’

6 days ago | theverge.com | Lauren Feiner

Posted May 8, 2025 at 8:27 PM UTCLLauren FeinerKeeping Messenger alive post-WhatsApp could ‘prove there is competition.’Meta CMO Alex Schultz is back on the stand after Mosseri finished testifying.
‘Make Instagram Instagram again.’

6 days ago | theverge.com | Lauren Feiner

Posted May 8, 2025 at 8:04 PM UTCLLauren Feiner‘Make Instagram Instagram again.’The FTC revisits the Kardashain-popularized meme pushing back on Instagram’s design overhaul that it later walked back. It’s walking through a 2022 interview with The Verge where Mosseri explained the decision.
Creators always want more reach.

6 days ago | theverge.com | Lauren Feiner

Posted May 8, 2025 at 7:54 PM UTCCreators always want more reach. “I never met a creator who didn’t think they deserved more reach than they were getting,” Mosseri says. But the reality is, he adds, there’s two times as many creators this year than last, so the field is getting more and more saturated. “Even though Instagram might benefit, there are winners and losers within the creator ecosystem.”
‘TikTok is notorious about being very loose with its data.’

6 days ago | theverge.com | Lauren Feiner

Posted May 8, 2025 at 7:41 PM UTCLLauren Feiner‘TikTok is notorious about being very loose with its data.’Mosseri takes the jab at TikTok after the FTC asks about the reliability of TikTok’s data evaluating how much its features are used. The FTC may be underscoring a TikTok executive’s earlier testimony that it’s “friends” feed only makes up a small percentage of videos viewed on the app.
‘One of the best acquisitions of all time.’

6 days ago | theverge.com | Lauren Feiner

Posted May 8, 2025 at 6:52 PM UTC‘One of the best acquisitions of all time.’That’s how Mosseri describes Facebook’s decision to buy Instagram in 2012. He says that both companies “benefited greatly” — Instagram, from Facebook’s resources and experience, and Facebook, from the founders’ talent for building compelling products.
Instagram ‘drifted culturally a bit too far’ from Facebook.

6 days ago | theverge.com | Lauren Feiner

Posted May 8, 2025 at 6:50 PM UTCLLauren FeinerInstagram ‘drifted culturally a bit too far’ from Facebook. Mosseri found himself in the middle of the tension between the two companies, having moved to Instagram from Facebook. He understood some of the concerns the Instagram founders had about things like discontinuing some links from Facebook to Instagram, and similarly disagreed with certain changes from Facebook, but “also thought they were being made more of than they needed to be.”
Instagram has spent up to $700 million in a year to lure creators.

6 days ago | theverge.com | Lauren Feiner

Posted May 8, 2025 at 6:26 PM UTCInstagram has spent up to $700 million in a year to lure creators. Mosseri estimates this is the most Instagram has spent in a given year on creator incentives. Instagram sees creators as a good source of content after many rank-and-file users began posting fewer of their own updates.