FTC Says Multiple Antitrust Probes Are Under Way
November 18 2019 - 1:46PM
Dow Jones News
By Ryan Tracy
WASHINGTON -- The Federal Trade Commission has multiple ongoing
antitrust investigations into online platforms, the agency's
chairman said Monday, suggesting a broader review of the technology
sector than previously known.
FTC Chairman Joseph Simons said that in addition to the agency's
investigation of Facebook Inc., which that company has disclosed,
the agency has "multiple other investigations going on with major
platforms."
The FTC has interviewed sellers on Amazon.com Inc.'s online
marketplace, according to some of the sellers who have spoken with
the agency. Amazon hasn't disclosed being notified of a formal FTC
probe and didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
The FTC enforces U.S. antitrust laws along with the Justice
Department and states attorneys general. Those entities are also
investigating whether large tech firms are abusing their market
power. Facebook and Alphabet Inc., owner of Google, are the subject
of both state and DOJ probes, according to the companies and
regulators' public statements.
The companies have said they are cooperating with investigators
and that they acquired their market positions legally -- by making
products benefiting consumers.
Mr. Simons, speaking at an American Bar Association event in
Washington, didn't discuss the details of any particular
investigation. He said the agency's new technology enforcement
division is looking at tech firms' conduct as well as reviewing
whether previous tech mergers and acquisitions, either individual
mergers or a string of smaller deals, harmed competition in
violation of U.S. law.
He also said the agency is considering whether mergers were
executed as part of "a campaign of exclusionary conduct that
includes exclusionary behavior like exclusive dealings (and)
loyalty programs."
Write to Ryan Tracy at ryan.tracy@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 18, 2019 13:31 ET (18:31 GMT)
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