Zuckerberg testifies before FTC as part of antitrust probe
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg this week testified at a Federal Trade Commission investigative hearing related to the federal agency’s antitrust investigation into the tech company, the company confirmed to CNBC on Thursday.
“We are committed to cooperating with the US Federal Trade Commission’s inquiry and answering the questions the Agency may have,” Facebook spokesman Joe Osborne said in a statement.
Politico was first to report Zuckerberg’s testimony with the FTC. Zuckerberg testified virtually over the course of two days, according to Politico.
It’s unclear what exactly Zuckerberg spoke about, but the testimony is the latest sign that the FTC is pushing forward with an antitrust probe that the agency opened into the social media company in June 2019. However, the testimony does not necessarily mean that the agency will pursue an antitrust lawsuit agains the company, according to Politico.
The testimony follows a public hearing last month before the House Antitrust Subcommittee alongside Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Apple CEO Tim Cook and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai. At the hearing, Zuckerberg was grilled over the competitive nature of the company’s $1 billion acquisition of Instagram in 2012 and the $19 billion purchase of WhatsApp in 2014.
