FTC Considering Deposing Top Facebook Executives in Antitrust Probe--5th Update
18 July 2020 - 8:27AM
Dow Jones News
By Brent Kendall and Emily Glazer
The Federal Trade Commission is considering taking sworn
testimony from Facebook Inc. Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg and
Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg as part of its
investigation into whether the social-media giant has violated U.S.
antitrust laws, according to people familiar with the matter.
Top Facebook officials are preparing for potential depositions
and some are worried about the possibility, a person familiar with
the matter said. However, the company now is most immediately
planning for Mr. Zuckerberg's scheduled July 27 appearance before
the House Judiciary antitrust subcommittee, where he and other top
tech executives are expected to be grilled by lawmakers.
The executives weren't deposed in the FTC's prior probe of
Facebook for alleged consumer-privacy violations, a matter that
resulted in a $5 billion settlement a year ago. FTC officials in
announcing that agreement said they floated the possibility of
deposing Mr. Zuckerberg as one way of extracting a bigger
settlement from the company.
An FTC spokeswoman declined to comment.
A Facebook spokesman said the company has continued to
demonstrate to enforcement agencies that its "innovation provides
more choices for consumers." The spokesman added that Facebook
looks forward to sharing its views about the competitive landscape
alongside other technology leaders later this month at the
congressional hearing.
Facebook is one of a handful of tech giants in the government's
crosshairs amid concerns they are too powerful and stifle
competition.
Facebook-owned platforms, including Instagram and WhatsApp, have
more than 2.5 billion users world-wide, and the company has emerged
as one of the few dominant players in the U.S. digital advertising
market.
The FTC has been examining whether Facebook has engaged in
unlawful monopolistic practices, including whether it had a
strategy of buying up potential rivals for the purpose of heading
off future competitive threats.
The Justice Department also is taking a broad look at dominant
online platforms over antitrust concerns, creating friction between
the two agencies, The Wall Street Journal has reported. But the
department for now has been more focused on Alphabet Inc.'s Google,
people familiar with the matter said. The Journal reported in May
that Justice Department was preparing to sue Google as soon as this
summer.
Most state attorneys general also are investigating Facebook for
possible antitrust violations. While the states communicate with
their federal counterparts, they are not running a joint probe.
Antitrust investigations involving conduct by a dominant firm
can be complex and slow moving, but antitrust officials are facing
time pressures, especially with the election looming in November.
If the probes drag on past then, they could end up being run by
different political leadership.
Facebook, similar to other large companies, in the past has
tried to settle government concerns without litigation, one of the
people familiar with the matter said.
There are no active settlement talks with the FTC on antitrust
matters now, the person added.
Facebook is increasingly preparing for the possibility that the
government may seek to limit how its products and platforms
interact or force the company to divest parts of its business --
and is ready to litigate those points, people familiar with the
matter said.
Mr. Zuckerberg's next big test comes when he appears before the
House antitrust subcommittee later this month along with the chief
executives from Amazon.com Inc., Apple Inc. and Google.
Lawmakers, who have sought documents and testimony from all four
firms, are examining whether U.S. antitrust laws need to be updated
to curb what some on Capitol Hill perceive as excessive power
wielded by tech giants over the digital marketplace, such as online
advertising, e-commerce and smartphone apps. It is common for them
to also ask about other matters, which has factored into Facebook's
preparations ahead of the hearing.
Write to Brent Kendall at brent.kendall@wsj.com and Emily Glazer
at emily.glazer@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 17, 2020 18:12 ET (22:12 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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