By: Jennifer Liberto, Avie Schneider
September 6, 2019
The push to investigate Big Tech is picking up steam.
Attorneys general from eight states and the District of Columbia have launched a formal investigation into Facebook over anti-competitive practices, the New York attorney general’s office confirmed Friday morning. And later in the day, Google’s parent acknowledged that the Department of Justice is looking into antitrust issues at the search giant.
The probe by the states will look into whether Facebook “endangered consumer data, reduced the quality of consumers’ choices, or increased the price of advertising,” said New York Attorney General Letitia James in a statement.
The antitrust investigation is part of a larger review that’s being coordinated with attorneys general in Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee and the District of Columbia.