Colo. joining multistate probe of Facebook

Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser will join attorneys general in eight states and the District of Columbia in a multistate investigation into Facebook for possible antitrust violations, the attorney general’s office confirmed Friday.

“This investigation is focused on whether Facebook has engaged in anticompetitive behavior, endangered consumer data, and put the privacy of users at risk,” Weiser said in a statement.

New York State Attorney General Letitia James will lead the coalition, joined by attorneys general from Florida, Iowa, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee and the District of Columbia.

“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.”

Will Castleberry, Facebook’s vice president for state and local policy, said in a statement: “People have multiple choices for every one of the services we provide. We understand that if we stop innovating, people can easily leave our platform. This underscores the competition we face, not only in the U.S., but around the globe. We will work constructively with state attorneys general and we welcome a conversation with policymakers about the competitive environment in which we operate.”

In July, Facebook confirmed that the Federal Trade Commission is investigating the social media giant for antitrust concerns. That same day, the FTC slapped the company with a record $5 billion fine over Facebook’s privacy policies.