Rep. Cicilline: FTC Must Investigate Facebook’s Antitrust Violations

March 19, 2019

In a New York Times op-ed, Congressman David Cicilline (D-RI), Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Antitrust, has asked the FTC to investigate Facebook for violating antitrust laws. Citing EPIC's work, Chairman Cicilline said "For years, privacy advocates have alerted the commission that Facebook was likely violating its commitments under the agreement. Not only did the commission fail to enforce its order, but by failing to block Facebook's acquisition of WhatsApp and Instagram, it enabled Facebook to extend its dominance." Rep. Cicilline made clear that data merger deals implicate competition law, which EPIC has long argued. Earlier this year, EPIC joined a coalition of groups urging the FTC to unwind the Facebook-WhatsApp merger, citing promises the companies made at time of the merger. EPIC has launched the #EnforceTheOrder campaign to urge action on the consent order.

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