Facebook is currently being investigated by

a) The FTC
b) The House Judiciary
c) A group of 47 attorneys, led by NY's AG

The House Judiciary hearing is today at noon

0/ Here’s a thread on the history of Facebook's antitrust woes

1/ Election interference (2016) + Cambridge Analytica (2018) put a spotlight on how much user data and influence FB wields

The FTC opened investigations shortly following Cambridge Analytica

2/ Last year: Germany’s top court ruled that users be given the choice of whether or not FB collects their data across sites and platforms

Last month: FB lost its appeal for that decision, moving the case to a) lower courts for confirmation or b) the European Court of Justice

3/ Fast forward to today: the U.S. House Judiciary's antitrust subcommittee starts their hearing

A key concern? Whether FB can give users the all-or-nothing choice of

a) handing over their data for targeted, cross-platform ads or
b) Not having FB, WhatsApp, IG, or Messenger

4/ What else will lawmakers likely ask Zuck about while they have him up on the virtual stand?

-digital advertising
-data privacy
-election interference
-anti-conservative bias

5/ Looking ahead: FB is preparing for top officials to be deposed (forced to testify) by the FTC

A key concern? FB's acquire-or-copy approach to social media up-and-comers

6/ What's at stake as all this history comes to a head?

-The data-fueled ad tech that helped bring in 98.5% of FB’s revenue last year
-FB's 92-acquisition streak since '07

The FTC has the power to sue, deny future deals, and even *retroactively dismantle* past M&A action

7/ + deeper dive here: https://www.morningbrew.com/daily/stories/2020/07/27/antitrust-spotlight-facebooks-social-media-stronghold