Zuckerberg questioned by FTC in Facebook antitrust probe

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was questioned by the Federal Trade Commission this week in an investigative hearing as part of the agency’s antitrust investigation, multiple outlets have reported.

It’s unclear exactly what Zuckerberg was asked about in the closed-door probe. Sources told Politico, the outlet that first reported the testimony, that the hearing doesn’t necessarily signal that the agency will ultimately pursue an antitrust lawsuit.

“We are committed to cooperating with the US Federal Trade Commission’s inquiry and answering the questions the Agency may have,” a Facebook spokesman said in a statement to The Hill. 

The FTC declined to comment for this story. 

The FTC hearing this week follows the House antitrust subcommittee hearing last month where Zuckerberg appeared alongside Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Apple CEO Tim Cook and Google CEO Sundar Pichai.

At that hearing, lawmakers accused Zuckerberg of simply buying companies Facebook sees as competitors, pointing to their $1 billion acquisition of Instagram in 2012 and the $19 billion purchase of WhatsApp in 2014.