The FTC is reportedly considering deposing Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg in its antitrust investigation into Facebook
- The FTC is considering deposing Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg in its Facebook antitrust probe.
- The federal agency is looking at whether Facebook has acted anti-competitively.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and COO Sheryl Sandberg may be directly grilled by federal investigators looking at whether the social media giant has acted anticompetitively.
According to a new report from The Wall Street Journal on Friday, the Federal Trade Commission is considering deposing the two top Facebook executives in its antitrust probe into the company.
Facebook dominates the social media landscape in the United States, and the FTC has been investigating since mid-2019 whether its practices fall foul of anti-monopoly laws. The company is known for aggressively buying up competitors — key business units Instagram, WhatsApp, and Oculus all started life as independent companies — and the FTC is looking at its past acquisitions as part of its investigation.
It's not immediately clear what the timeframe might be for Zuckerberg and Sandberg to give sworn testimony, if the FTC does decide to push ahead with this approach, or if Facebook might attempt to prevent it.
Reached for comment by Business Insider about The WSJ's report, a Facebook spokesperson said the company was looking forward to an upcoming congressional hearing where Zuckerberg is scheduled to appear to discuss antitrust issues.
"We look forward to sharing our views about the competitive landscape, along with other technology leaders, during this month's Congressional hearing, while also demonstrating for enforcement agencies that our innovation provides more choices for consumers," they said in a statement.
An FTC spokesperson declined to comment.
Got a tip? Contact Business Insider reporter Rob Price via encrypted messaging app Signal (+1 650-636-6268), encrypted email (robaeprice@protonmail.com), standard email (rprice@businessinsider.com), Telegram/Wickr/WeChat (robaeprice), or Twitter DM (@robaeprice). We can keep sources anonymous. Use a non-work device to reach out. PR pitches by standard email only, please.