Mark Zuckerberg floated the possibility of spinning off Instagram from his social media empire amid rising regulatory scrutiny of the technology sector and an increasing concern that the photo sharing app was “cannibalizing” the success of Facebook.

The Meta chief executive, testifying in a landmark antitrust trial, denied he was trying to snuff out competitors.

Meta Platforms Inc. faces a historic antitrust trial beginning Monday that could force the tech giant to break off Instagram and WhatsApp, startups it bought more than a decade ago that have since grown into social media powerhouses.