Skip to main content

The FTC is reportedly considering deposing Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg in its antitrust investigation into Facebook (FB)

* The FTC is considering deposing Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg in its Facebook antitrust probe. * The federal agency is looking at whether Facebook has acted anti-competitively. * The WSJ reports that the FTC is now mulling demanding sworn testimony from Facebook's top two leaders. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and COO Sheryl Sandberg may be directly grilled by federal investigators looking at whether the social media giant has acted anticompetitively. According to a new report from The Wall Street Journal on Friday, the Federal Trade Commission is considering deposing the two top Facebook executives in its antitrust probe into the company. Facebook dominates the social media landscape in the United States, and the FTC has been investigating since mid-2019 whether its practices fall foul of anti-monopoly laws. The company is known for aggressively buying up competitors — key business units Instagram, WhatsApp, and Oculus all started life as independent companies — and the FTC is looking at its past acquisitions as part of its investigation. It's not immediately clear what the timeframe might be for Zuckerberg and Sandberg to give sworn testimony, if the FTC does decide to push ahead with this approach, or if Facebook might attempt to prevent it.  Reached for comment by Business Insider about The WSJ's report, a Facebook spokesperson said the company was looking forward to an upcoming congressional hearing where Zuckerberg is scheduled to appear to discuss antitrust issues. "We look forward to sharing our views about the competitive landscape, along with other technology leaders, during this month's Congressional hearing, while also demonstrating for enforcement agencies that our innovation provides more choices for consumers," they said in a statement. An FTC spokesperson declined to comment. Got a tip? Contact Business Insider reporter Rob Price via encrypted messaging app Signal (+1 650-636-6268), encrypted email (robaeprice@protonmail.com), standard email (rprice@businessinsider.com), Telegram/Wickr/WeChat (robaeprice), or Twitter DM (@robaeprice). We can keep sources anonymous. Use a non-work device to reach out. PR pitches by standard email only, please. Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: The rise and fall of Donald Trump's $365 million airline
https://bit.ly/395CmeK

Popular posts from this blog

Tokyo installed see-through public toilets in a park to let people inspect their cleanliness before using them, at which point the glass turns opaque

* Two see-through bathrooms have been installed in public parks in Tokyo. * They are made from "smart glass" designed so people can see how clean they are inside before using them. The glass turns opaque when the bathroom is locked and in use. * The stalls are part of a project that is redoing 17 of the city's public bathrooms with different designers to make them more accessible and appealing. * The goal is to fight assumptions that public toilets are "are dark, dirty, smelly, and scary," said the nonprofit foundation behind the project. * Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Tokyo has installed two see-through bathroom facilities in public parks, allowing people to see how clean they are before deciding to use them, at which point they turn opaque. The bathrooms are made of colored "smart glass," which turns opaque when the stalls are locked, said Shigeru Ban, the architect behind the designs. You can see how it works her...

Bill Gates says the world would need as many as 14 billion doses of a coronavirus vaccine to stop the virus

* The world could need as many as 14 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines, Bill Gates said on Thursday in a blog post about the race to develop a way to make people immune to the disease. * "We need to make billions of doses, we need to get them out to every part of the world, and we need all of this to happen as quickly as possible," Gates said. * Gates said he had his eyes on eight to 10 promising candidates, adding that healthcare workers and people in low-income countries should be first in line once we find one that works. * While potential vaccines are progressing with historic speed, they're still months, or even years away, and the biggest challenge lies ahead in proving whether they are safe and effective in humans. * Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Bill Gates believes we may eventually need to produce as many as 14 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines globally and that we're anywhere from nine months to two years away from making tha...

Here's an exclusive look at the pitch deck London fintech Lanistar used to raise $19 million at a $190 million valuation

* London-based fintech startup Lanistar has raised a £15 million ($19 million) funding round from Milaya Capital.  * Founded in 2019, Lanistar is building a personal financial management platform that will launch later in 2020.  * "We're expecting a huge amount of growth upon our launch and have already seen strong interest among our sign ups," Gurhan Kiziloz, founder and CEO of Lanistar, told Business Insider. * Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.  The coronavirus lockdown in the UK has brought the importance of managing money into sharp relief. A recent study from Money.com shows that 71% of UK households have saved cash during lockdown, and, with uncertainty about jobs and the economy looming, money management is now front of mind for many. Lanistar, a banking platform with a focus on personal finance, is one company offering tools for consumers to better manage their money. It has just raised a £15 million ($19 million) funding round from Mil...