Regulators in eight states and the District of Columbia are moving forward with an antitrust investigation of Facebook, New York’s attorney general said on Friday, the latest move by government officials to increase scrutiny of America’s technology giants.
“Even the largest social media platform in the world must follow the law and respect consumers,” Attorney General Letitia James of New York said in a statement. Joining Ms. James in the effort are the attorneys general of Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee and the District of Columbia.
In a statement, Will Castleberry, Facebook’s vice president of state and local policy, said that the company “will work constructively with state attorneys general, and we welcome a conversation with policymakers about the competitive environment in which we operate.”
.Facebook bought Instagram, the photo-sharing network, for $1 billion in 2012. Just two years later, Facebook spent $19 billion for WhatsApp, a global-messaging application used by more than a billion people.
Critics believe that long before either acquisition, Mark Zuckerberg, a founder of Facebook and its chief executive, kept a close eye on start-ups that could pose a threat to his company. Facebook has acquired more than 70 companies over roughly 15 years.
Ueber 70 Firmen gekauft in rund 15 Jahren. So hält man sich Konkurrenz fern.