Facebook announced updates on its privacy policy based on an agreement with the Federal Trade Commission on Friday amid reports that the agency is considering an antitrust case against the social media giant.
“Over the past several months, we’ve made changes to Public Groups and built new products like Shops on Facebook and Instagram, Facebook Campus and Accounts Center,” Facebook wrote in a blog update. “Our revamped Privacy Review process … helps ensure every new product or feature is built with privacy in mind, meaning it has the appropriate tools and processes in place to help address potential risks and protect people’s information.”
In April, Facebook established its privacy committee on its board of directors after a federal court approved the company’s agreement with the FTC to conclude the agency’s investigation into Facebook and Cambridge Analytica, the data firm that improperly used data harvested from Facebook users to build targeted voter profiles. The company also paid a $5 billion fine.
The New York Times reported that the FTC is nearing a decision on whether it will pursue an antitrust investigation into Facebook for its market power in social networking and its acquisition of smaller rivals. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg answered questions under oath for the commission in August.
The FTC’s five commissioners would have to vote before an investigation could be opened. The commission met about the Facebook investigation on Thursday.
The FTC declined to comment on the potential investigation.
An investigation by the FTC would add to a growing number of cases and inquiries concerning the clout of Big Tech companies. On Tuesday, the Justice Department filed an antitrust lawsuit against Google concerning its alleged anti-competitive business practices and the dominance of its search engine in the online advertising sector.
“Two decades ago, Google became the darling of Silicon Valley as a scrappy startup with an innovative way to search the emerging internet. That Google is long gone,” the lawsuit contends. “The Google of today is a monopoly gatekeeper for the internet, and one of the wealthiest companies on the planet, with a market value of $1 trillion and annual revenue exceeding $160 billion.”
In July, the CEOs of Facebook, Apple, Amazon, and Google appeared before Congress to testify, and a report from Congress’s yearlong investigation is expected soon. Two weeks ago, House lawmakers called for the most sweeping changes to antitrust laws in decades and recommended effectively breaking up some of the largest companies, including Google, Amazon, and Facebook.
