Federal Trade Commission Chairman Joe Simons announces that Facebook Inc has agreed to a settlement of allegations it mishandled user privacy during a news conference at FTC Headquarters in Washington, U.S., July 24, 2019.The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is investigating whether Facebook Inc acquisitions were aimed at buying up potential rivals before they could become a threat to the social media company, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.
In June, Reuters reported that the FTC and the Justice Department, which enforce U.S. antitrust laws, have divided oversight over the big four tech companies, withInc and Facebook under the watch of the FTC, and Apple Inc and Alphabet Inc’s Google under the Justice Department. While Facebook does not release user or revenue figures for each service, executives presenting the company’s earnings last week cited Instagram as a key driver of ad impression growth, the company’s main source of revenue.George Hay, a professor of antitrust law at Cornell University and a former Justice Department lawyer, said the FTC’s investigation of Facebook is likely to focus on section two of the Sherman Act, which makes it unlawful to acquire monopoly power through improper means.