Facebook slides after states launch new antitrust probe, intensifying scrutiny on big tech
- Shares of Facebook sunk more than 2% on Friday after New York Attorney General Letitia James said her office is coordinating a multi-state antitrust probe into the company.
- The probe is expected to look at how Facebook has handled consumer data and whether or not the company has stifled competition, according to a press release from James's office.
- Facebook paid out a $5 billion fine to the Federal Trade Commission in July over the company's handling of the Cambridge Analytica data breach.
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State attorney generals are joining the rush to investigate big tech.
Shares of Facebook tumbled more than 2% after New York Attorney General Letitia James said multiple states - including New York - are launching a separate antitrust probe into the social media company.
"Even the largest social media platform in the world must follow the law and respect consumers," James said in a press release. "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."
Several states including Colorado, Florida, North Carolina, Ohio, Iowa, Nebraska, Tennessee, and the District of Columbia will be joining New York in the investigation.
The announcement comes shortly after the social media company settled a separate antitrust investigation. Facebook paid the Federal Trade Commission $5 billion over is handling of the Cambridge Analytica data breach.
Antitrust scrutiny of big tech companies like Facebook, Google, and Amazon has grown dramatically over the last year. The Department of Justice and the FTC have either launched or considered pursuing probes into potential anticompetitive practices from each of these companies.
One the main areas that's come into focus for Facebook has been the company's previous acquisition of other social media platforms. Facebook acquired Instagram and WhatsApp, and some regulators and politicians have suggested the purchases eliminated the company's competitors.
Facebook is up more than 43% year-to-date.
