(WAND) – A total of 47 states, including Illinois, are taking part in a New York led antitrust probe into Facebook, New York State’s Attorney General Letitia announced Tuesday.
The investigation was announced in September with seven other states but has since expanded to nearly the entire county. The investigation will zero in on whether Facebook broke any state or federal laws as a result of any ant-conduct related to its dominance of social media, NBC News reported.
“After continued bipartisan conversations with attorneys general from around the country, today I am announcing that we have vastly expanded the list of states, districts, and territories investigating Facebook for potential antitrust violations,” James said in a statement. “Our investigation now has the support of 47 attorneys general from around the nation, who are all concerned that Facebook may have put consumer data at risk, reduced the quality of consumers’ choices, and increased the price of advertising. As we continue our investigation, we will use every investigative tool at our disposal to determine whether Facebook’s actions stifled competition and put users at risk.”
The company is already facing a separate antitrust investigation by the Federal Trade Commission.
A separate probe including Facebook, Google, Amazon and Apple was also launched by the U.S. Department of Justice.
The probe by the attorney generals includes the following states - Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming, and the territory of Guam. James said six other states can’t confirm their participation in the investigation.
