United States: Facebook faces multi-state investigation into anti-competitive practices
The inquiry will determine whether the social media giant’s actions endangered consumers’ data, limited their choices or raised advertising prices.
The attorney general of New York state on Friday said she will launch an investigation into Facebook’s practices and the possibility of the company creating an anti-competitive scenario in the industry. Attorneys general of seven states and the District of Columbia will join the investigation.
“Even the largest social media platform in the world must follow the law and respect consumers,” said Attorney General Letitia James in a statement. “I am proud to be leading a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general in investigating whether Facebook has stifled competition and put users at risk. We will use every investigative tool at our disposal to determine whether Facebook’s actions may have endangered consumer data, reduced the quality of consumers’ choices, or increased the price of advertising.”
James said the investigation focused on “Facebook’s dominance in the industry and the potential anticompetitive conduct stemming from that dominance”. The states whose attorneys general will be part of the probe are Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio and Tennessee.
BREAKING: I’m launching an investigation into Facebook to determine whether their actions endangered consumer data, reduced the quality of consumers’ choices, or increased the price of advertising.
— NY AG James (@NewYorkStateAG) September 6, 2019
The largest social media platform in the world must follow the law.
Reports on Tuesday said more than 30 state attorneys general in the United States were expected to launch an investigation into Google for potential antitrust violations.
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