I don't have sympathy to GAFA, but the article oversimplifies the reality and jumps to the conclusion here and there. Broken logic is dangerous...
Since its inception, Facebook have been very careful to kill every competition. The easiest way of doing it being by buying companies that could, one day, become competitors. Instagram, WhatsApp to name a few, were bought only because their product attracted users and could cast a shadow on Facebook.
This is oversimplification. Facebook not only acquired WhatsApp, but wanted access to its user data. So, it's not "only because" they wanted to control WhatsApp before they become a rival.
The article's logic becomes sloppy like this every few sentences if not words.