About 40 state attorneys general plan to take part in an antitrust investigation to determine whether Facebook Inc. abused its market position by engaging in anti-competitive behavior, The Washington Post reported Oct. 7, citing people familiar with the matter.
The announcement comes weeks after New York Attorney General Letitia James announced the wide-ranging probe. Sources told The Washington Post that New York continues to solicit support from other states.
The antitrust probe into the social network comes at a time of mounting scrutiny of technology companies. Facebook in July disclosed that it was being investigated by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission for antitrust concerns, shortly after it agreed to pay a $5 billion fine to settle FTC-documented privacy violations.
Facebook pointed to a statement from Will Castleberry, the company's vice president of state and local policy, who said Facebook would work constructively with state attorneys general on the issue and would welcome a conversation with policymakers.
Fifty state attorneys general, led by the Texas attorney general's office, earlier confirmed they are launching an investigation into potentially monopolistic behavior by Alphabet Inc.'s Google LLC in the online advertising marketplace.
