Florida joins anti-trust investigation of Facebook

TALLAHASSEE

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody has joined seven other states and the District of Columbia in investigating Facebook for possible antitrust violations.

The news came in a Friday morning news release from New York Attorney General Letitia James, who is leading the bipartisan investigation into the social media giant.

“Even the largest social media platform in the world must follow the law and respect consumers,” James said in a statement. “I am proud to be leading a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general in investigating whether Facebook has stifled competition and put users at risk. We will use every investigative tool at our disposal to determine whether Facebook’s actions may have endangered consumer data, reduced the quality of consumers’ choices, or increased the price of advertising.”

James said the attorneys general of Florida, Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee and the District of Columbia were assisting the investigation.

“The investigation focuses on Facebook’s dominance in the industry and the potential anti-competitive conduct stemming from that dominance,” James’ statement said.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.