Google testified in an antitrust hearing before the Senate yesterday, but the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) appears to be gearing up to crack down on Facebook.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the FTC is preparing “a possible antitrust lawsuit against Facebook,” potentially by the end of the year, citing several sources familiar with the matter.
The FTC has reportedly spent over a year investigating “concerns that Facebook has been using its powerful market position to stifle competition,” according to The Journal.
At this point, the FTC has not made an official decision about whether to sue Facebook, The Journal's sources reportedly stated. “[T]he commission doesn’t always bring cases even when it is making preparations to do so,” they said.
The FTC has not released any specifics about the allegations against Facebook. However, when announcing the launch of antitrust investigations into several Big Tech companies in July 2019, Department of Justice Chief antitrust officer Makan Delrahim said in a statement to The Journal that “without the discipline of meaningful market-based competition, digital platforms may act in ways that are not responsive to consumer demands.”
The Journal’s sources reportedly noted that “FTC staffers are continuing to ask questions about past acquisitions, as well as about issues related to how Facebook manages its platform with regard to app developers.”
Between the ongoing case against Google, and now this potential case against Facebook, Big Tech’s day of reckoning may be coming soon.
Conservatives are under attack. Contact the FCC at 1-888-225-5322 and/or via the MRC’s FCC contact form to give your take on the petition filed by the Department of Commerce regarding Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996. Demand that Big Tech be held to account to mirror the First Amendment while providing transparency, clarity on “hate speech” and equal footing for conservatives.
