The FTC will reportedly have oversight over a potential Facebook probe, and it could signal a tidal wave of tech antitrust action (FB)

Reuters

• Should Facebook be investigated for antitrust violations, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will lead the probe, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday. 
• The report comes as the government agencies responsible for antitrust oversight — the Justice Department (DOJ) and FTC — appear to be divvying up major tech companies for future investigations. 
• Last Friday, The Journal reported the DOJ is potentially preparing an antitrust probe against Google. On Saturday, the Washington Post reported that the FTC would be responsible for looking into Amazon. 
• The FTC has already been investigating the social media giant for privacy concerns and its handling of user data.
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Should Facebook be investigated for antitrust violations, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) would lead the probe, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday. 

The report comes as the government agencies responsible for antitrust oversight — the Justice Department (DOJ) and FTC — appear to be divvying up major tech companies for future investigations. 

Last Friday, The Journal reported the DOJ is potentially preparing an antitrust probe against Google. On Saturday, the Washington Post reported that the FTC would be responsible for looking into Amazon. 

Read more: How Washington insiders figured out the Trump administration was investigating Google over antitrust issues

The Journal could not confirm whether the FTC has formal plans to launch an antitrust investigation against Facebook any time soon. 

The FTC has already been investigating the social media giant for privacy concerns and its handling of user data. According to its first-quarter earnings report, Facebook expects to pay a fine to the FTC of between $3 billion and $5 billion. 

Although no formal antitrust investigations have been announced, the divvying of turf amongst the DOJ and FTC appears to be the government’s first step into putting the tech industries largest companies under the microscope in the search for possible monopolistic practices. Curbing these tech giant’s power has been on the rise in recent political rhetoric — especially in the case of Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren. 

In March, Warren published a Medium post, outlining her plan to "unwind" big tech companies, including Facebook, Amazon, and Google. 

Representatives for Facebook and the FTC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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See Also:

• Big tech’s time of reckoning: It looks like Trump is making good on his threat to take on Google and Amazon
• We tried Google’s new augmented reality feature for Maps that’s currently available only on its Pixel smartphones, and we don’t know what we’d do without it.
• Facebook’s shareholder meeting was a sad display of impotent groveling, and it’s the future in store for many other investors

SEE ALSO: Big tech’s time of reckoning: It looks like Trump is making good on his threat to take on Google and Amazon

Source: Business Insider – nbastone@businessinsider.com (Nick Bastone)