A PYMNTS Company

US: FTC gets authority for possible Facebook investigation

By  |  June 3, 2019

The Federal Trade Commission will be in charge of any antitrust investigations into Facebook, according to a new report in the Wall Street Journal Monday.

    Get the Full Story

    Complete the form to unlock this article and enjoy unlimited free access to all PYMNTS content — no additional logins required.

    yesSubscribe to our daily newsletter, PYMNTS Today.

    By completing this form, you agree to receive marketing communications from PYMNTS and to the sharing of your information with our sponsor, if applicable, in accordance with our Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions.

    It’s part of an arrangement that permits the Justice Department to investigate Google while handing over Facebook and Amazon to the FTC. On Friday, reports surfaced that the Justice Department was preparing to open an antitrust probe into Google. It wasn’t immediately clear exactly what part of Google’s business that the Department would be investigating, but shortly after the news broke, The Washington Post confirmed that The FTC would be at the reigns of any investigations into Amazon.

    Both the FTC and the Justice Department have the authority to enforce antitrust laws, but the agencies work out agreements over which one will investigate specific companies.

    The FTC has spent over a year now looking into Facebook’s privacy practices following the company’s Cambridge Analytica scandal, but that specific investigation doesn’t extend into questions on antitrust. Since the FTC is now charged with the authority to investigate Facebook’s market power, it could mean that the agency will pursue an antitrust probe into the company.

    Full Content: Wall Street Journal

    Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.