Once again, social media giant, Facebook, is under investigation, this time to determine whether it has “stifled competition and put users at risk” in the U.S.
New York state Attorney General Letitia James announced the new action on behalf of a coalition of representatives from several states. She said:
Even the largest social media platform in the world must follow the law and respect consumers, … 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,
A Facebook spokesperson said people had “multiple choices” when it came to using online services. The company’s vice president for state and local policy, Will Castleberry, said:
We understand that if we stop innovating, people can easily leave our platform. This underscores the competition we face, not only in the United States but around the globe,
The investigation includes input by state officials from Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee and the district of Columbia.
Facebook is already facing a separate anti-trust investigation by the FTC. And, two months ago, the US Justice Department opened an investigation on potentially anti-competitive practices of major technology firms.
Facebook previously claimed it is not a monopoly, saying that consumers are free to choose how to connect with friends online.
