Facebook's stock took a dive following a report that federal regulators may seek to prevent the company from more tightly integrating its social media products
The Federal Trade Commission is said to be considering asking for a court order to delay Facebook from making the services it owns, including WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook Messenger, interoperable with one another, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter.
Shares of Facebook fell more than 3 percent in afternoon trading Thursday after the news broke.Facebook and the FTC declined to comment on the report.In March, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced plans to unify the platforms as part of what he said was a bigger push to prioritize user privacy. But critics of the move fear that it could further entrench the company's dominance and make it harder for regulators to break up the company in a potential antitrust lawsuit.Read MoreAsking for a court's intervention, even temporarily, would make sense for regulators concerned about how Facebook's prior mergers may have affected competition, said Gene Kimmelman, a former Justice Department antitrust official."If federal law enforcers think they have any possible case to challenge past transactions," he said,"seeking an immediate injunction is critical to prevent Facebook from scrambling the eggs so much that they can't be separated in the future."Earlier this year, Facebook agreed to pay $5 billion to settle an FTC investigation into the company's privacy practices. The company has also disclosed it is under a separate antitrust investigation by the FTC.The FTC isn't the only one probing Facebook for possible violations of competition law. Investigators working for the House Judiciary Committee have asked the company to provide answers as part of a wide-ranging antitrust review of Silicon Valley, and the Justice Department has signaled it's taking an expansive look into online search, social media and retail.Meanwhile, a group of states led by New York is also conducting an antitrust investigation of Facebook, a number of attorneys general announced this year.
Please follow us on Google to support us United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
The Vatican is using donations for the poor to fight its budget deficit, report saysAs little as 10% of donations by Roman Catholics that are specifically advertised as helping the poor and suffering actually go toward charitable work, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Read more »
University of Phoenix to cancel $141 million in student loan debt to settle FTC disputeThe settlement includes $50 million in cash and $141 million to cancel debt. The FTC called it the largest ever obtained against a for-profit school.
Read more »
Facebook falls on report FTC weighing injunction over antitrust concernsThe Federal Trade Commission is considering seeking an injunction against Facebook over antitrust concerns, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.
Read more »
FTC weighs action against Facebook over how its apps interact: reportThe U.S. Federal Trade Commission is considering seeking a preliminary injunctio...
Read more »